And the Future was not-so Destined
by azciel
Summary: A mix of the manga and anime of Sailor Moon. What happens after the battle with Shadow Galactica? The universe's star seeds are returned for a second chance at life. My own spin on how Usagi takes her destiny into her own hands, finding her own, un-predestined love. The true birth of Sailor Cosmos. Usa/Seiya
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

My first published fanfic! Please enjoy! Constructive criticism is always appreciated!

* * *

Chapter 1:

The war with Shadow Galactica had been won. Chaos had fled her body, released from its prison. The universe's star seeds had been guided back to their perspective planets to start over. The Sailor Senshi of Earth breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that there would be peace (at least for now).

After saying goodbye to Princess Kakyuu and the Starlights, the Inner Sailor Senshi felt like they could finish their first year of high school in relative peace. Uranus, Neptune, Saturn and Pluto disappeared again to maintain their separation from the Inner Senshi to Usagi's sadness.

The Inner Senshi, Ami, Rei, Makoto and Minako felt a burden lift off their shoulders knowing that they had overcome one of the greatest foes they would ever have to face. Each one had grown in her own way during what would be called years later as the Galactic War, but they were eager to fully experience the rest of their high school years.

Mamoru, whose star seed was stolen first from Earth, carried a profound sadness within himself that he was unable to protect either himself or Usagi. He was supposed to be her prince, her knight; and he not only was captured first, but also was the main contribution to her pain. He pushed an uncomfortable unsettling feeling from the pit of his stomach into the back of his mind as he contemplated his future after Kakyuu and the Starlights left.

The biggest change, however, was in Usagi herself. Something happened during the last battle with Galactica. The over eating, irresponsible, klutzy, crybaby was no longer any of those things. She was still endlessly cheerful and saw the best in everyone and everything, but Usagi's aura was calmer and she radiated a quite joy and happiness, it was as if the Silver Imperium Crystal radiated brightness through her presence alone without being in her transformed form.

Her friends didn't notice the change right away as they were all so excited to have life back as normal, but right after the Starlights had left and the joking was over, Usagi withdrew into herself a little. She was no longer late for school, which shocked her parents and Luna the most; she was diligent about her homework and her grades, managing to pass her first year of high school with decent marks. Usagi carried herself serenely with a sense of responsibility and a calm heart.

It was this Usagi who came to a decision about her and Mamoru and gave him a proposal.

"Mamo-chan," a soft sweet voice spoke behind him.

Chiba Mamoru stood up from leaning against the rail on the pier overlooking the sunset. "Usa-ko" he replied turning to her.

The young couple smiled gently at each other, Usagi stepping into Mamoru's arms for an embrace and a kiss.

"Mamo-chan, you've been pensive these past few months," Usagi said as she leaned into Mamoru's chest.

"I know Usa-ko, I'm sorry. It's just…"

Usagi smiled sadly at her boyfriend, "Shhh," she raised a finger to his lips. "I know. We've all been through a lot."

Mamoru looked down at his girlfriend in his arms. He had felt her change instantly. She no longer clung to him like a lifeline or whined to him about ice cream and bad grades. Instead of needing him to save her, to hold her to take care of her, he felt that she was learning to stand on her own two feet; independent. Like a queen.

And that was part of his problem in figuring out his future. He didn't know to how act around a responsible and mature Usagi. He didn't know if she needed him anymore- he didn't know what he wanted for his future.

Usagi's cerulean eyes looked deep into Mamoru's eyes, as if she was reading his soul, seeing his love and the conflict arising, troubling his heart.

"Do you know what you're going to do now, Mamo-chan?" she asked as she broke their eye contact and turned to lean on the railing. The sun was just setting, emitting warm, golden rays of light onto their faces.

"I…I don' t know, Usa-ko" he replied. "I called Harvard and they are still willing to accept me even if it has been almost six months later."

He turned to face the sunset as well as if his answers would come with the last of the day's light.

"Is it what you want to do?" she simply asked.

Her simple question startled Mamoru. It was a good question. One he had not yet asked himself. He closed his eyes turning the conflict inward trying to find an answer. _What DO I want to do?_ He asked himself.

"Want to know what I think?" she asked him quietly.

Mamoru opened his eyes, turning to Usagi waiting to hear her go on. He nodded to her.

"I think that we both need time. Time and space."

"Usa-ko, what do you mean?" his heart beat faster in confusion. "What are you trying to say?"

"Please hear me out. It's not what you think." She turned to him and took his hands into her. "Right now, I know we love each other. I know we love us. But I think that it's time we took destiny into our own hands." Usagi tilted her head to the side looking up into Mamoru's eyes. "For years, we've been told that we are destined for each other; Endymion and Serenity. And while we may have a past life together, we are no longer those people."

Mamoru interrupted her, "but Chibusa…"

"Yes I know. There is our future child to consider." Usagi paused, "I think that she would not want to be born out of an obligation we feel we have to her, but out of our love for each other. Mamo-chan, I know we love each other, but I also know we're not there yet."

"We're not?"

Usagi chewed on her bottom lip thinking her words over, "I love you, but I'm still too young. I'm not ready and I feel like you're not ready yet either; am I wrong?"

Mamoru sighed. He was surprised at himself, but her words not only made all the sense in the world, but they calmed his anxious heart. "No, you're not wrong." Hearing her words about them not being ready felt like a shackle had been released off his ankles and wrists. He realized that he had focused so much on the future that had been foretold, that he lost sight of his immediate life.

Usagi smiled sweetly, "So I'll ask you again, Mamo-chan, what is it that you want to do?"

This time without hesitation, with clarity and a light heart he replied, "I want to go to Harvard. I want to get my medical research degree and save lives."

"And I want you to do what makes you happy now."

"But I still love you Usa-ko. And I want us to be together. What is it that you want?" he asked his girlfriend.

"I want to be an ordinary high school girl. I don't want to have to worry about being a mother or a queen just yet. It's actually really simple when I thought about it," she laughed, "We have all the time in the world for our future as Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion. We don't have to rush anything."

An expression of consideration crossed Mamoru's face. He had never quite thought of it that way. He nodded at her words.

"But then what happens to us?" he asked. "I still love you."

"I love you too Mamo-chan. So much, but I learned in this war with Galactica that I'm not ready to be in a relationship. I need to be able to stand on my own two feet as my own senshi." Usagi looked across Tokyo bay, twilight easing into the sky, a few bright stars already twinkling.

Mamoru was proud and in awe. She had grown so much in the past few months.

"I think it's best if we lived our lives happily right now, pursuing what it is that we want right now. Once we're older, with more life experience from this life, and if we're still in love—then I think we can truly commit to each other."

Pride and sadness grew in his chest, Mamoru knew that she was right, and that her words were spoken with wisdom, but part of him did not want to lose what they had right now. "I will miss you, my Usa-ko."

"Don't think that you'll be rid of me that easily," she laughed with tears in her eyes. "I will always be your friend and I will always love you. That will never ever change. Let's see where this life takes us; we don't need to keep living in the past, just know that I will always be here for you whenever you need me."

Mamoru knelt down onto one knee, taking Usagi's hand to his lips, "and you will always have my love and friendship as well, my princess."

And just for a moment, Mamoru was the Earth's Prince kneeling at the Moon Princess's feet. Her calmness penetrated his being knowing that he would always have a friend and ally with her.

They said their goodbyes and promised each other they would keep in touch, and wished each other good luck. They were ready to take their destinies into their own hands.

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How was it?

Please rate & review! _0 The more [good] reviews (as in constructive or inspiring) I get, the faster I'll update! Promise!


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

My first published fanfic! Please enjoy! Constructive criticism is always appreciated!

* * *

Chapter 2:

"You guys what?!" exclaimed Rei and Minako who jumped up from her seat underneath the great oak tree at Hikawa Shrine.

The girls had gotten together the weekend after their first year of high school was done. It was five months after the defeat of Galactica and they were settling nicely into a peaceful time.

Makoto sat with her mouth open and Ami looked at Usagi worriedly.

"Please, Minako. Sit down" Usagi tried to calm down two of her best friends. She chuckled to herself slightly seeing them get so excited about these things still.

"Usagi-chan, really," Minako said desperately. "This is no laughing matter!"

Usagi calmed her face and bowed her head apologetically, "No, you are correct. I apologize. But really, you are over exaggerating."

"How are we exaggerating Usagi?!" snapped Rei crossing her arms.

Usagi's best friends and senshi sat in the spring sun stunned at their princess's revelation. She had just informed them about Mamoru's decision to go back to America to pursue his degree with her blessing; and that they for the time being, put their relationship on hiatus.

"But… but…. Why Usagi-chan?!" cried Makoto. "You guys love each other so much already!"

"We still love each other minasan, very much." Usagi smiled softly at her senshi. Her smiled radiated a calm that brought Minako back down onto the grass to sit next to her friends. "But we are still young, and we have plenty of time to fall in love again. There is no rush and Mamoru wants to be able to pursue his dream to become a doctor. I love him too much to hold him back just because of a 'predestined' future."

From the way she explained her perspective, their friend and future queen made sense. Why rush? They certainly weren't in a rush to grow up any faster, now was the time to enjoy their lives before responsibility caught up with them. Each of the Inner Sailor Senshi had different thoughts running through their heads.

"I think that's very mature of you, Usagi-chan," said Ami with respect. Ami was the first of the Inner Senshi to sense the change in Usagi. She saw how Usagi was more composed and thoughtful. She was surprised at how Usagi had managed to get her school act together for the end of their first year.

Minako was flabbergasted. After everything Usagi had gone through with Mamoru, how could she just let him leave like that? _Doesn't she want to follow her destiny and live happily ever after with her prince?!_ She thought to herself. That's certainly what she would do in Usagi's position. But she was proud of Usagi, Minako knew how much she cared for Mamoru, and she knew that letting Mamoru follow him dreams was one of the purest actions of love that Usagi could show for the Earthling prince.

Rei couldn't believe her ears. _Just who is this Usagi?!_ She thought to herself. She almost wanted to accuse the young woman sitting next to her for being an imposter. She frowned to herself thinking about the most recent events. Clearly, the battle with Shadow Galactica affected Usagi more than it showed. Rei closed her eyes and felt for Usagi's aura. Pre-Galactic War Usagi's aura was a swirl of colors that moved erratically around the young princess her moods swinging, emotions amok; but not anymore. Rei gasped, her eyes snapping open. How did she not sense it before? Even with her eyes open Rei could see, could feel, Usagi's white aura glowing around her. It was as if Usagi drew in all the once swirling auras into herself creating a soothing and peaceful gently radiating light.

"Sugoi Usagi-chan," Makoto said with a voice full of awe. Her lightning nature tended to make her more explosive than the other girls, but as the 'protector' of the Inner Senshi, she was greatly affected by Usagi's calming light even though she didn't know it. "Just as long as you two are happy, I am happy for both of you." She declared.

Usagi's best friends all smiled and nodded together in agreement. "You will always have us as well, our princess." Declared Minako passionately. "You will never be alone!"

"Thank you minasan." Usagi smiled gently at her Inner Senshi. They basked in the feeling of her light. She was starting to turn into the queen they all knew she would become.

~.~

"Usagi has really changed, hasn't she?" Minako stated, eyes dull.

The remaining four senshi were in Rei's living room talking after Usagi had left to go back to her parent's house for dinner. The four girls looked at each other. They were both happy and sad in the change of their Moon Princess. Happy because she was turning into a responsible princess that they've always wanted her to be, but sad because she seemed to have lost some of her innocence, some of the naivety that she had had.

"She has certainly become less klutzy," declared Makoto. "She hasn't tripped or fallen down at all since we've gotten back."

"And she has been actually doing her homework and passing all her tests," stated Ami.

"Well I think it's about time she got herself together," growled Rei. She was upset. She couldn't figure out why she was so unsettled. "She was too much of a crybaby, too irresponsible and too much of an airhead!"

The three other girls were shocked at Rei's outburst.

Minako gently wrapped her arms around Rei's shoulders. "I kind of miss the way she was too, Rei," whispered Minako.

Rei's eyes filled with tears. Patting the arms around her shoulders comforting her. "Was the battle with Galactica so bad?" she almost cried.

No one could answer her. Even though they weren't physically there- in the depths of their star seeds, they knew how torn apart Usagi was during the battle. They all felt guilty for not being able to be there with her.

Makoto couldn't stand to see her friends distressed in this way, "Minasan, she's still our Usagi-chan. She's still cheerful and happy! She's our Moon Princess!"

After thinking about what Usagi had told them about the final battle with Shadow Galactica, Ami spoke up, "I think she's trying to become stronger to protect us," she said slowly. "Remember, we couldn't be there for the final battle because our star seeds had been stolen."

They all remembered, one by one, they had been separated from their princess, leaving her alone with the Starlights to battle Shadow Galactica.

Minako sighed. She was still very frustrated at herself for that. She was supposed to be the leader of the Inner Sailor Senshi. She had let the others and her princess down.

"We can never let that happen again," Makoto said, looking into the eyes of her fellow senshi. "We can never leave her alone again in battle."

Rei snorted, "Duh. That's for sure."

They all smiled together, with a new sense of purpose filling their hearts.

"We'll be even stronger senshi yet!" exclaimed Minako. "We can't let anyone harm Usagi-chan ever again!"

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Yay! Chapter 2! Thank you so much for reading up to this point!

Please rate and review so I know how I'm doing so far?!

Ja'ne! xo~


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

Hello! Thank you for sticking with me through the story! ::bows in gratitude::

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3:

Usagi sat on her bed with her windows open looking out into the night sky. Luna jumped up onto her bed, nuzzling her head affectionately on Usagi.

"Usagi, I am so proud of you," she beamed at her young charge.

Usagi smiled down at her mentor. "Thank you Luna, for all your support and wisdom."

Luna sensed Usagi's change as soon as star seeds were returned and time continued onto its normal path. "You are very welcome, my princess," she replied. Luna shimmered in the moonlight transforming into her human counterpart. Usagi smiled at her friend and advisor and hugged her with affection.

"I feel a difference, Luna." Usagi said turning towards the sky again.

"What do you mean Usagi?"

"I feel connected," she said as if in a trance, her mind clearly traveling, "I can feel everyone and everything, planets and stars all connected..." Usagi's voice faded.

Suddenly Usagi stood up, still looking out into the night sky. "Luna, come" she said, still in her trance-like state. Luna shimmered in the moonlight again, transforming into her cat form. She jumped into her awaiting princess's arms. Usagi had never spoken to her so regally. She wondered just how deep the change in her princess went.

Usagi's moon crescent shined upon her forehead. With Luna in her arms, the Moon Princess and her advisor beamed through the sky as light towards the direction of the moon.

~.~

Usagi's beam teleported them to the Crystal Palace. Luna gasped at the sight before her. No longer in ruins, the palace was restored to the height of its splendor, back from when Queen Serenity had ruled. She bit back tears that clutched at her heart.

The palace stood regally at the edge of the Sea of Serenity lights twinkling inside the grand windows. The sea itself gently rippled at the kiss of the moon's gentle breezes lapping the shore. Twin fountains at the front of the palace gurgled like a brook at the inviting entrance, doors wide open. Yellow flowers littered the floor of the scene; their buds closed tight their sweet scent almost teasing the air they breathed in.

Luna turned to look at Usagi, or rather; she turned to look at Princess Serenity, Princess of the Moon Kingdom, no longer in her pajamas, her white dress billowing in the soft wind.

Princess Serenity broke into a wide smile, laughing with an ecstatic joy down at Luna, "Come Luna, she's waiting to welcome us back home!"

"…who is?" Luna, tears replaced by calm, laughed after her, catching the joy and happiness that radiated from Princess Serenity.

"Come on! Let's go!"

They both ran into the palace, carefully maneuvering around the yellow buds. Once they reached the throne room, a single bright yellow bud sat on the throne. Luna looked around seeing no one in the room. She watched as Princess Serenity walked up to the dais and curtsey low to the flower.

"Welcome home Queen Serenity," she said in a sweet clear voice full of love.

The flower on the throne suddenly bloomed revealing a star seed that glowed with the Maboroshi Crystal light. A bright flash causing Luna to flinch lit up the throne room, and when she could see again, Queen Serenity, Princess Serenity's mother sat regally in her throne looking surprised. She lifted her hand and looked at it, reaching up to touch the solidity of her face, she looked up in awe and smiled lovingly at her daughter.

"Serena! My Serenity!" the Queen cried flying off the throne to embrace her long lost daughter. The Queen and Princess once reunited, held each other again, beloved daughter and mother.

"My Queen!" Luna sang, running up to the Queen. "But,… but how?!"

Queen Serenity swooped up a purring Luna hugging her tightly in her arms. "Luna! How I've missed you!" Both Luna and Queen Serenity turned to Princess Serenity who smiled serenely at them both, she was so happy, she practically glowed.

"It was after the battle, remember?" she said, giggling. "I had asked Sailor Galactica to guide all of the star seeds back home safely."

Realization hit them both at the same time, "What?!" they exclaimed in unison and confusion.

"All of the star seeds that had been stolen and sealed away up the point of the battle were freed! That means everyone who died at chaos' hands gets a second chance!" Princess Serenity laughed musically into their ears.

"Daughter," Queen Serenity took her daughter's hand into her own, "Thank you. Thank you for saving us all. I am so proud of you, my Serena."

Mother and daughter looked into each other's eyes, as if communing via their souls, they understood each other perfectly, as if their souls aligned and folded into each other and came apart, even stronger and more brilliant.

The Queen laughed along with her daughter letting the joy of being alive again wash over her being. She turned to the rest of her flower-strewn court, flowers trembling by an unseen wind.

"Come minasan, time to wake up!" she said to the flowers. Her Maboroshi Crystal flashed brightly in the air. "We have our lives to live!"

And all of the flowers bloomed revealing star seeds, the sweet scent of their nectar wafting into the air filling the Crystal Moon Kingdom with new life.

And thus, the Crystal Moon Kingdom awoke from their slumber.

* * *

And so the plot continues! Thank you for reading!

I would love to hear what you think about the story so far!

ja'bai bai! x0~


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

Hello everyone! This story just seems to want to be told, the words are flying from my fingertips! I hope you enjoy the direction that I'm going in!

I want to thank the few reviews I've gotten so far, even your short words inspire me to keep going, so thank you!

Bin82501: thank you for being my very first review!

GraphicsChyk: I thought it would be a fun plot twist as well! I cant wait for you to read chapter 6!

kissn'envy: I hope to eventually get to the birth of Sailor Cosmos, though the story and the characters seem to have a mind of their own -_-;

Thank you all for reading! ::bow of gratitude::

Please enjoy chapter 4!

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Chapter 4:

After their star seeds had been restored, the Outer Sailor Senshi, by custom, segregated themselves from their Princess and the Inner Sailor Senshi. They were the outside guardians that were meant to protect their Princess from outside dangers and to guard the flow of time. It had been months since they've had contact with the Inner Senshi or their Princess. They kept and eye on Usagi, but mostly they stood at their vigilant guard towards the rest of the galaxy.

"I wonder how they are all doing," said Hotaru sadly as she looked up from her schoolwork one evening. They knew she missed being closer to the other senshi.

Setsuna looked up at Haruka and Michiru and smiled sadly at them. Still smiling, she looked back down to Hotaru. "I'm sure they're doing just fine, Hotaru-chan."

"That's right Hotaru-chan, you know our Koneko, she's invincible!" Haruka soothed the younger girl.

Hotaru smiled back sadly, "But Haruka-papa, something doesn't feel right somehow."

The three older senshi looked at each other, even more troubled.

Michiru smiled softly, concealing her troubled thoughts. She had been watching the Inner Senshi and Usagi through her mirror, and was nervous about the changes their princess had undergone. She sighed, _Sometimes, it's not so good to be so detached from our Princess. We never really know what's going on in her life._

She remembered Setsuna's and Haruka's surprise when she informed them about Usagi's and Mamoru's decision to separate for the time being the night before. Setsuna, especially was worried what that would mean in the long run for their 30th century future. She had plans to go back to the gates of time to check on whether the future was still on its correct path. They did not want to worry Hotaru, especially about her future best friend, Chibiusa. Setsuna especially was panicking about her Small Lady's existence.

Suddenly they felt the power of the Maboroshi Crystal flash, making them shiver down to their bones. They had sensed nothing! Was their princess in trouble?! Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna and even Hotaru got up involuntarily and ran to the window looking out to the moon. Setstuna called forth her Garnet Rod, trembling in fear. The other three Outer Senshi watched her in horror as they had never seen the Time Gaurdian so shaken up. There was no time to ask what went wrong.

"Uranus Crystal Power Make-up!"

"Neptune Crystal Power Make-up!"

"Saturn Crystal Power Make-up!"

"Pluto Crystal Power Makeup!"

The four teleported immediately after transforming to the Moon. They were ready to battle a new foe and to protect their Princess.

~.~

The Outer Senshi were not prepared for the sight they saw upon landing outside of the Crystal Palace. The Crystal Moon Kingdom was restored. This stopped them for a moment before they continued forward.

"What's going on here?" growled Haruka speeding up her sprint.

They ran through the lit up palace, wary of the yellow flowers covering the floor and burst into the throne room weapons at the ready.

A bright familiar voice rang out, "We have our lives to live!"

A flash of light and a surge of sweet perfume filled the air at their entrance of the throne room. One moment they were alone with two figures in the room, and then all of a sudden, the room was filled with people both surprised and dazed.

The Outer Senshi were even more stunned as two double-bun styled figures stood in the center of the room on the throne dais before them. Their eyes widened, they dismissed their weapons and fell down to one knee. The rest of the assembly followed suit.

A court herald, knowing his duty announced the two figures on the dais. "Presenting before you, lords and ladies of the Crystal Moon Kingdom, our Queen Serenity and Princess Serenity."

The court, still down on one knee looked up at their rulers, awestricken.

"My people," Queen Serenity spoke with a clear calm voice, her message also carrying into the air to the people outside the palace throughout her kingdom. "I welcome you to the 21th century! I know you may all be confused, but let me put your minds and hearts at ease. Your princess has saved all of our star seeds from Chaos and we have been granted a second chance to live out the lives that had been stolen from us by him! Rejoice, my people, the Crystal Moon Kingdom has returned to its former glory!"

The people of the Crystal Moon Kingdom cheered and their rulers smiled gracefully upon them.

The four Outer Senshi stood up and looked at their rulers in amazement. _How was it possible? The Queen is alive?!_ They all asked themselves in confusion.

Setsuna knelt back down in front of her Queen, "Your Majesty! Your Highness!" she addressed them both.

"Rise, Sailor Pluto," Queen Serenity said. "I know you have questions, please, Sailor Senshi, follow us."

The senshi followed their queen and princess to the private sitting room of the queen. Queen Serenity sat on a large overstuffed chair smiling down at her daughter who sat on a cushion at the foot of her mother's chair.

"Please, sit." the Queen commanded.

The senshi sat down on the couches uncomfortably their minds spinning at the return of the Crystal Moon Kingdom.

"My queen," Setsuna started, "the future…" she began to exclaim, "what is going to happen?! How are we going to arrive to the foretold 30th century if you will be ruling the Crystal Moon Kingdom?!"

Hotaru, who had been observing the queen and more importantly, the princess's aura, set a hand out onto Pluto's shoulder patting her gently. Setsuna turned to Hotaru, her panic clearly written on her face.

The queen tilted her head to the side, the same way Usagi did when she was thinking, chewing on her bottom lip. Seeing this Haruka dropped her head and smiled slightly. Her Koneko was so much like her mother.

Hotaru spoke up, her eyes distant, "The future is not set in stone, Setsuna-momma. Everyone's daily choices are what mold the future. And while there may be predetermined projections of the future, it doesn't mean that it is going to be what will come to pass. And what we know of may not be the original intended future." She turned her tear filled eyes to Setsuna.

Setsuna's bottom lip trembled, "But what about Chibiusa?" she said, her voice broken.

"Setsuna-san, the current events do not mean that Chibiusa will not come to be," said Princess Serenity sternly.

Haruka and Michiru looked at their princess in surprise at her tone to the Gate Keeper of Time.

"There is more at work here than you think. It's not just the Crystal Moon Kingdom that has been affected by Chaos- the whole galaxy is reeling at how time is now being forced back to it's original path."

"It's original path?" asked Haruka.

"Chaos had been ruling Shadow Galactica for thousands of years." Princess Serenity explained, "She was the one that corrupted Queen Beryl from the timeline you know of."

"Even since then, he's been behind all the evil?" Michiru whispered in shock.

Princess Serenity nodded. "I cannot say if Chibiusa will be born of my love with Mamo-chan or not, but I can feel her star seed out there, so please do not cry. You're grief may be unnecessary."

"Setsuna, my friend, please," said Queen Serenity, concern and compassion in her voice.

Setsuna's mouth moved, but her voice wouldn't work. Tears were streaming down her eyes, "Queen Serenity," she gasped, "But I can't see it. I can't see the 30th century any longer."

So that's what was wrong.

"I can no longer feel the future either; have you lost your sight?" interjected Michiru.

Setsuna shook her head, "Yes… I mean, no. I can see the immediate future, maybe a few years ahead, but I can no longer sense the distant future."

"Ah," all heads turned to Queen Serenity. "Well, that much at least, I can explain." The queen stood and knelt before the sitting Setsuna, taking her hands into her own. "You cannot see beyond the repercussions of the actions that have yet to be made," the queen explained slowly. "Time is changing, and with lives being restored all over the galaxy, as my Serena has explained, the repercussions of the actions that people have yet to make are still being decided." She stood and smiled at the Outer Senshi, "Wait a few months or a few years, for people's lives to begin again, and you'll be able regain your sight as more repercussions will be determined."

Setsuna and Michiru both nodded to themselves, it made sense, and that sense calmed them both down.

"As we are all here though, I would like to hear the full story of the War with Shadow Galactica," said Queen Serenity looking to the senshi and her daughter. She frowned when the Princess avoided her gaze, but knew that Serena would be honest about the tale.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review! Hopefully I'll be able to update again soon!

Ja'baibai! xo~


	5. Chapter 5: An Interlude

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

Hello all! I want to thank everyone who's been sticking with me through this journey so far! This chapter is going to be a little bit out of the box, so bear with me, but I PROMISE, it will all make sense later!

Bin82501 : I'm so glad you're enjoying where the story is going! No pressure on it being an epic though- ::Sweatdrop::

Kika - Chan.5: Thank for you the cheers to keep going! My steam has been slowing down a little, but cheers to continue always inspire me!

I hope you all enjoy Chapter 5! ::bow of gratitude::

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Chapter 5: (interlude)

The rest of the night rolled on with Princess Serenity telling the tale of the Galactic War to her mother and the Outer Senshi with Luna purring in her lap. They cried with her and apologized re-living the pain that she had gone through. The princess sighed deeply wiping the tears from her eyes and said that everything turned out alright, so it was all okay. With her mother coming back to life and everyone whose lives had been prematurely halted before coming back to life, it was all worth it in her eyes.

When Princess Serenity was getting ready to return back to Earth in between her yawns, the queen asked if she could borrow Luna to help her catch up with current Earth news and politics. Usagi smiled up at her Lunar mother and Luna jumped from the princess's arms into the queen's arms.

After the princess beamed back down to Earth accompanied by Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru, Queen Serenity turned to Setsuna.

"Sailor Pluto," the queen called her.

Setsuna looked up in askance.

"Yes your majesty?"

"I have a question for you, if you could walk with me, please?" the queen walked out of her private sitting room into the private royal garden. The surface of the moon glowed, shining on the White Moon chrysanthemums that sparkled with their own iridescent light.

"I'm sorry that the new turn of events has unbalanced you," apologized the Queen.

Setsuna shook her head. "It's not your fault, Queen Serenity."

"I never thought that after the final battle with Galactica would end with everyone regaining their lives," the queen said quietly. "It feels strange to be alive again, but I'm grateful for this second chance to be with my daughter," she paused and looked up to Sailor Pluto, "and my friends again."

Setsuna smiled at the queen. "She is growing up beautifully, your Majesty."

They stopped at a flowered arch with a marble bench. The queen sat down on the bench and pat it for Setsuna to sit next to her. Awkwardly, Setsuna sat next to the queen. She felt déjà vu, back to the time way before the rise of the Glory of the Moon Kingdom, sitting down with her fellow Princess Serenity as Princess Pluto.

"Do you want to go back to the Gates of Time, Sestuna?" asked the queen asked quietly. "You can go back, but then the door will be locked behind you like before, but pain will cease."

Setsuna froze hearing the queen's words.

"You know, Setsu-ko," the queen said, referring to her best friend with her old nickname, "I've missed you." Queen Serenity smiled at the Guardian of Time. "I don't like seeing you in such pain."

"Sere-ko-hime," Setsuna replied, calling the queen by her nickname as well, "To be honest, I was lonely. I don't know if I could stand to witness time apart from everyone again. I don't even know how the gate opened in the first place for me to escape."

The queen looked into the sky down at Earth, watching the clouds move over the planet. "I think it was a distortion in time, when time itself fell out of its original path. Future paths opened up, creating several future doors."

"That makes sense. But I still don't want to be trapped alone watching time slip by."

The queen nodded to herself. "I can understand that, but Setsu-ko, once you start seeing and sensing more of the future, you might get hurt again, because its path might change from what you thought it was going to be. Are you really okay with that?"

"I don't have much of a choice, but to face the knowledge of the future straight on, Sere-ko-chan," Setsuna laughed bitterly. "I am the Guardian of Time, afterall."

The queen was nibbling the bottom of her lip again, deep in thought. She had brought her knees up to her chest like she used to do when she was younger, before she became queen; hands clasped around her knees.

"You know," she started to say, "We can ask Chronos to limit the range of your future sight."

That was the last thing she thought her Queen and friend would say to her. She didn't even think that was possible, the future was the future.

"What?"

"Being able to see the future is useful, but it can also be confusing and painful," the queen continued her train of thought. "I just want you to be happy." She turned to face Setsuna.

"I don't know if my Lord Chronos would appreciate his gift of future sight to be returned to him, my queen."

"Not all of it, I don't think you'd be able to survive without seeing pieces of the future, with how you're so used to it by now."

"I would probably feel blind," Setsuna agreed reluctantly.

"Setsu-ko, I sense a hidden desire in your that you're not voicing to me. Please, tell me," Serenity pleaded with her.

Setsuna was startled that the queen would be able to see through her calm façade.

Then all of a sudden, the very nature of time and space stopped. The universe froze with the sole exception of Setsuna, Queen Serenity, and unbeknownst to them all, Princess Serenity. From the void of space stepped out a God cloaked in dead space matter.

"My daughter, Setsuna, step forward," his voice boomed echoing with the feeling of eternity.

Setsuna inhaled sharply getting up to her feet to face her father, the God Chronos. Queen Serenity's eyes opened wide and rose to her feet as well, bowing to the God of Time.

The God smiled at his daughter and her friend, "Be welcome Serenity," he told the queen. "My brothers and sisters are proud of you and your daughter. Your mother bids you her love."

"I am honored my Lord Chronos," Queen Serenity replied with deep feeling, bowing again.

"Father, I…" Setsuna started to speak.

"Daughter, hearken to me and obey," interrupted the God. "Serenity is right. You have not told your queen all that is in your heart. As time has folded and turned and I know all of you, my daughter, and I know what it is that you fear the most." Chonos walked up to his daughter lifting her chin with his finger so she was forced to look him into black eyes filled studded with the glow of a million stars. "Don't despair, Setsuna. Tims is only changing and the future will be all the better for it. But as I hear your heart breaking, I shall grant you your wish."

With this declaration Setsuna's eyes glistened with tears and thanks bubbled to her lips. Chronos held up his hand before she should utter a word.

"However; it will cost you to sacrifice more than you think. Your sacrifice may ruin your joy. Are you willing to take these terms daughter?" he asked her.

"Yes, my Lord," cried Setsuna passionately falling down to one knee. "Please!" she begged. "I will do anything."

"So then be it!" his voiced boomed. And for a moment both the God Chronos and Sailor Pluto glowed with a dark, almost purple light, then out of nowhere, Setsuna collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Chonos smiled at his unconscious daughter sadly. He turned to speak to the Queen of the Crystal Moon Kingdom, "Take care of her, please Serenity, I feel I must I warn you, her healing with take some extensive time."

"As you say, my Lord," the queen replied, she squirmed. "What was her request?" she could not help but ask.

The God of Time smiled at the inquisitive queen. Really, were all descendants of his sister the Goddess Selene just as inquisitive as she was?

"She asked to defy time and destiny." was the enigmatic reply.

"And the price?"

He bit back a chuckle, "It was as you said, I took back part of her sight." Serenity gasped at the news, "She had overstepped her boundaries several times, already. My siblings have been demanding my intervention to discipline her. This way, I can bless and punish my daughter at the same time without actually hurting her." The God said sheepishly. "It may cause some trouble for you in the future, I apologize in advance. I'm sure you and your daughter will overcome."

There was nothing else that needed to be said. The God Chronos stepped back through the void to where he belonged. Time continued forward and Queen Serenity summoned her guards to take the sleeping Setsuna to her appointed quarters.

Usagi smiled up to the moon pulling the covers up to her chin; there was something that bothered her about what Pluto had asked for Chronos' answer was too elusive, but she was too sleepy to focus on it properly, "Lord Chronos, who would have thought you would be such a softie," she giggled to herself and slipped back into a deep slumber.

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The plot thickens! What did Setsuna ask for?! Dun-dun-dunnnnn!

Up loads might be a little slower now- please brea with me!

Thanks for reading! Please leave a review!

Ja'baibai xo~


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

Hello All! Welcome to chapter 6! Things will hopefully start picking up! The story is starting to change on it's own, and I'm letting the characters do what they want. So with that- I have to say there are going to be pairings from here on in all across the board, **so if you are sensitive against yuri or yaoi love (girl/girl or boy/boy) you may not want to continue reading. THIS IS YOUR WARNING! **

LoveInTheBattleField : I have seen parts of the Crystal season. Honestly, though- aside from a visual revamp, I wish they had changed the story a little for the characters to be a little more developed. It's all really pretty tho.

q.t : Thank you! I've always wanted Usagi to be more real- you know? And I think the transition going into HS for her is a great way to show the changes she'll be going through.

Bin82501: Thanks for sticking with me thus far! I really want to be able to portray just how 'powerful' she's becoming. She totally leveled up a TON with the battle with Shadow Galactica, afterall!

OK! Enough talking, now for the story! Enjoy! ::Bows with Gratitude::

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AN: *newupdate* Changed Kakyuu's partner's name to Sailor Star Protector- reasons will make more sense in the upcoming chapters. That is all.

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Chapter 6:

Across the galaxy, in another solar interstellar neighborhood, with its own solar system, Princess Kakyuu and her Starlights finally returned to their home planet of Kinmoku. From space their small planet, with its three moons shone brightly as if it had never been destroyed. Tears sprang into Princess Kayyuu's eyes as the homesickness for her people finally caught up with her. They flew to where their planet's palace was located, preparing themselves mentally to see the ruin that was once their home. They were all shocked to see that the palace was not only restored, but it seemed as if, the planet had never been destroyed in the first place. The round towers of the palace standing erect, the Tankei flag flapping in the wind.

Star Fighter, Healer and Maker landed on the reception balcony of the palace, surrounding their princess. They were guarded, their weapons in hand just in case of any hidden enemies. The planet was beautiful, but eerily silent, covered with closed yellow buds.

They walked to the throne room warily, Princess Kakyuu looking curiously around her, touching objects she had grown up with on the way, her favorite vase from a visiting planet, the smooth walls that were so familiar to her. _The planet had been destroyed, hadn't it?!_ She thought to herself. She had remembered teleporting into space just as the Shadow Galactica imploded their planet's core. But walking down the halls that she knew like the back of her hand, made her realize, that this palace, wasn't a rebuilt palace in the likeness of the original. It was HER palace. Her real palace. As they turned a corner, she swore she recognized a scratch on the wall from the one time her and her sister played with swords in the hallway.

She giggled to herself at the memory. The seneschal was absolutely livid that they had scratched the marble walls, much less endangered their lives with playing with real swords.

Sailors Star Healer, Maker and Fighter were overjoyed hearing their princess laughing again after such a long time of heartache. They smiled at each other at the musical notes of her laugh.

The Sailor Star Senshi looked around in bewilderment. They were Home.

_I wish you were here with us, Odango-atama, _Fighter thought. _It's not really home with you with me._

They walked into the grand throne room with the two thrones centered in the room, surrounded by open windows overlooking the city. The buds of the yellow flowers were also scattered across the floor of the room.

Princess Kakyuu walked up to the throne were her father and her mother had used to sit.

"Kakyuu-hime-sama," said Fighter kneeling onto one knee.

Sailor Star Maker and Healer also fell down to one knee before their princess.

"Minasan," Princess Kakyuu whispered to the room, "We're home."

The room pulsed with a flash of red light the yellow flowers blossoming revealing star seeds and a breeze filled with the scent of olive blossoms wafted through the room. The room was suddenly alive with their friends and loved ones that had perished at the hands of Shadow Galactica and Chaos before her. The King and his Queen sat on the thrones smiling at one another, Princess Kakyuu's eyes flooded with tears and she threw herself at their feet kissing their hands and telling them how much she had missed them.

Fighter looked at her partners, "How the heck did all this just happen?!" she exclaimed.

Healer was dumbstruck and Maker, for once had no smart comment or theory she could vocalize as of yet.

Everyone in the entirety of Kinmoku congratulated each other and greeted each other with the relief of being alive.

As Kakyuu was bowing to her older sister joyful to see her again a cocky voice called out to her. "Ka-ko-hime." Princess Kakyuu froze hearing that voice. She trembled afraid to turn around to see the speaker.

Fighter, Healer and Maker's mouths were open in shock at the voice of the speaker as she strut up to the thrones, her hips slinking back and forth, her thigh high black boots clomping on the marble floor.

"A fly is going to fly down your throats if you don't close your mouths soon, mina-tachi," smirked Sailor Star Protector to her partners.

She winked at them and turned to her Princess who still hadn't had the courage to turn around to face the voice of the woman she loved.

"Ka-ko-hime, you hurt me. Have you already forgotten Watashi-sama?!" Star Feeler teased her Princess.

Kakyuu's voice rang through the throne room, as she whipped around smiling through her tears. "Who would remember you and your ego, Tooru?!"

Star Protector, or Tooru Kou, opened her arms as Princess Kakyuu ran into them kissing her with all the passion and love that she could muster. "Tori, Tori, Tori!" she cried into her lips.

Tooru smiled ecstatically. _What a homecoming._ She thought to herself.

A few months later, once the commotion of life had died down, and everyone was pretty much settled and making the planet prosperous again, Princess Kakyuu with her Starlights, sat around her balcony enjoying the summer breeze talking and sipping mint tea.

"So you're saying that Sailor Galactica ushered your star seeds here?!" Seiya asked her sister.

"She totally did!" answered Tooru with enthusiasm as one of her arms was wrapped around Princess Kakyuu.

The two had been glued together since everyone's star seeds had been released from their slumber. Gossip was ran rampant through the planet about when a proposal would be made.

"I mean, I don't know if she meant for everyone to come back all at once," continued Tooru.

"I thought that the deal she made with Sailor Moon was for everyone to go back to their proper times?" remarked Yaten to the group.

Tooru shrugged, "You don't see me complaining, do you? I got another chance, and this time," she turned to Kakyuu, kissing her softly on the lips, "I'm not going to mess it up."

Princess Kakyuu blushed at her love's remark as the three other Starlights smirked at the couple. A thought crossed her mind, "Do you think that all this happened because of Sailor Moon?" she asked her guardians in the room.

"It's something that Odango would definitely try to make happen in order to make everyone happy," stated Seiya, her thoughts turning to the preppy princess.

Seiya hadn't been able to get the Moon Princess off her mind since they had left Earth. She wouldn't say that Usagi tormented her daily, but she did feel as if part of her heart was missing, not seeing her Odango on at least a few times a week. Sometimes when walking through the palace, she would hear footstep that sounded like Usagi's, and would turn around excited, only to be disappointed. Of course, she hid how she felt from the princess and the other Starlights, especially her sister, but they could all tell, Seiya was not as happy as she could be. Sometimes she felt like she could feel Odango's bright and warm presence soothing her lonely heart. Seiya shook her head, trying to chase away thoughts of her Odango.

Tooru's eyes narrowed at her twin's reaction at the mention of Sailor Moon. No one had cared to enlighten her about how deep Seiya's relationship went with the Silver Moon Princess. Nevertheless, she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something was going on, and she wanted to know what it was.

Yaten knew that Tooru took every opportunity she had to torture her sister, and she knew that a chance at a second life was not about to stop her. She was torn between giving Seiya a break from his separation from Usagi or giving Tooru the ammunition she needed to torment her twin.

The princess interrupted all of their thoughts as she clapped her hands, remembering some news she had. "I had forgotten! Now that we're done rebuilding and getting everyone settled in the kingdom, Mother and Father want to celebrate with a massive gala!"

"A party sounds like a perfect way to celebrate the return of our planet!" cheered Tooru.

"When is going to be?" asked Taiki.

"Who's going to entertain?" interrupted Yaten.

The princess laughed clapping her hands. "Guys! One question at a time!" She grinned at her friends. "They want to schedule it in two months. And obviously The Four Lights are going to be headlining the entertainment."

They looked at her in surprise. Why in so long? They all thought.

She could read the question on their faces. "Well, it will take a few weeks to plan and gather all the necessary supplies, and besides, it will take a awhile for our invitation to get to…" Princess Kakyuu suddenly caught herself saying something that she wasn't supposed to mention, fortunately enough, she was able to catch herself in time and make up for it so none of the Starlights would be suspicious, "everyone around our planet," she finished, taking a sip of her tea. "But since now you know about it, you guys can start planning your set for the entertainment," she quickly changed the subject in order to distract the Starlights from her little blunder.

Princess Kakyuu smiled to herself and Yaten and Seiya started to argue about songs and the set order. Her Tooru and Taiki added to the commotion by arguing over what order their names were going to be written down in, in the program. _I hope Sailor Moon and her senshi will be able to make it, maybe her presence will bring a smile back to Seiya's face._ _I hope Sailor Star Starfall will be able to make it back with a positive confirmation. _

Truth was, the princess wasn't sure how long it would take for their fastest Sailor Star Senshi to make it to Earth and back. She smiled, and made a silent prayer to the cosmos. _I hope this moment of peace lasts._

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There you have it! Chapter 6! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and welcome Sailor Star Feeler into the group! Kakyuu-hime's lost love!

Please review and let me know what you think!

Ja'baiabi! xo~


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

Hello! I want to thank everyone for their reviews and constructive criticism! I will def think about some future editing to clarify some more, but for now, I am focusing on just getting the plot out onto paper (I tend to over edit and then my writing just stops _)

The characters will be evolving though, and I apologize if they evolve in a way that seems too out of the box. At the end of the day, I'm writing this for myself, but I would love for y'all to come join me for the ride! 3

I would like to take the time to address the fluidity to the sexuality of the people from Kinmoku in my version of this galaxy- they are all very androgynous. The Senshi have the ability to control their yin and yang, hence being able to change genders- they can be either gender if they prefer, but usually have one gender they prefer when not in their senshi form.

Without further ado, Chapter 7! ::bows in gratitude::

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Chapter 7:

As Sailor Star Starfall sped her way to Earth, life on Earth continued as usual.

The inner Sailor Senshi started their second year of high school, with emotions running high all of them in the best spirits. The inner senshi with their renewed sense of purpose swore to be even better protectors to their princess. Usagi continued to grow and mature, and was actually excelling in her schoolwork and had even joined the singing club with Minako.

Usagi had told her friends about the return of The Crystal Moon Kingdom and her mother, Queen Serenity. At first the girls didn't believe her, thinking Usagi had gone crazy, but after a trip to the Moon and seeing the Queen in the flesh, so to speak, their doubts were removed. They were all in awe of the Moon Queen's grace, holy beauty and wicked sense of humor.

Setsuna was still recovering from her deal with her father, the God Chronos. The Queen encased her body in crystal to help her healing process.

The Outer Senshi were actually back in the Moon Kingdom, acting as advisors for the Queen, and Hotaru was enrolled in a school in the Moon kingdom so she could continue her studies and watch over Setsuna's recovery.

It was during this peaceful time the Outer Sailor Senshi sensed the rapid arrival of Sailor Star Starfall.

Sailor Uranus ran into the throne room where Queen Serenity was going over documents with Luna. "Forgive me your majesty," she hastily said dropping down to one knee.

Queen Serenity looked up with worry in her beautiful blue eyes. "Please, report, Sailor Uranus."

"We sense a fast approaching single senshi into our solar system," Haruka reported.

"Do we know who this senshi is, or where they might be coming from? Do you believe it to be an attack?" she asked.

Haruka shook her head to the latter question. "Yes your majesty, the senshi is Sailor Star Starfall from the planet Kinmoku. She had identified herself as soon as she was within broadcasting distance. She would like permission to enter Earth's atmosphere to deliver an invitation to Princess Serenity and her Inner Senshi to celebrate the revival of the Planet Kinmoku," Haruka's voice showed the displeasure at the thought of their princess leaving their solar system.

"Grant my permission to Sailor Star Starfall, and please extend him or her an invitation to the Moon if they are so inclined," replied Queen Serenity smoothly.

"Yes, your highness," Haruka replied getting up from her knee. She turned to leave the throne room when she heard her Queen call for her.

"Haruka, don't worry so much," the Queen tried to console the at times over protective senshi. "Usagi will be careful, no harm will befall her on a small trip out of our solar system."

Haruka nodded silently to her Queen, doubt still clouding her eyes. _It's not that I don't think the Inner senshi can't keep her safe, _ran Haruka's thoughts. She decided to voice her opinion. "If I may be honest," she spoke up to the queen who nodded to her to continue. "It's not Koneko that I don't trust, but a dark long haired vixen that I'm afraid will try to seduce the princess into her clutches." Haruka said harshly.

Seiya at this point, across the galaxy, sneezed, hard.

The queen's twinkling giggle, so much like her daughter's stunned Haruka out of her anger. "Are you jealous Haruka-chan?" the Queen teased the blonde outer senshi.

Haruka's face blushed pink as the queen teased her. Being teased by their Queen was the last thing she thought would happen from this conversation, forgetting how much alike the queen-daughter duo were.

"I think you may be right about her jealousy, your majesty," said a voice from the door.

Haruka turned to face the voice turning an even deeper red to face Michiru. First being teased by her queen, and now by her lover?! "Your majesty!" Haruka protested.

Both Michiru and Queen Serenity burst out laughing, along with Luna and eventually Haruka herself.

"I understand your concern Haruka. But Usagi is a good girl. She is honest enough to communicate whether someone's advances are to her liking or not," the queen chuckled. "I'm sure if the interaction turned distasteful, that person would feel the wrath of the Sailor Moon!" The queen continued, "And if she happens to enjoy the attention, well, that's alright too," the queen sighed happily. The queen, who was in constant communication with her daughter knew that Usagi and Mamoru were taking some time off from being 'destined lovers.' She thought that it was smart of the princess as she wished her daughter had a more normal school and romance life.

Haruka groaned inwardly. Of course the mother of her princess would be a romantic.

"I think that's what Haruka is more worried about your majesty," giggled Michiru.

"Our princess is too good for that… that.. that singer!" growled Haruka to her lover, not able to think of a term harsh enough for the Starlight leader.

Again, Seiya sneezed from across the galaxy, wondering who would be gossiping so much about her.

Michiru loved to tease Haruka about her protectiveness of their princess. Part of her romantic side wanted to think it was because Haruka was partly in love with the princess, not that she would want that; Haruka was her lover afterall, but she loved to see her Haruka get flustered; such was the way of thinking of a typical Neptunite. Their manners flowed like water, changing course with the tide, and at times, rather sadistically.

The Queen laughed at the two senshi. She was glad that her daughter was able to have so many people care about her.

Sailor Star Starfall had received permission from the ever grouchy Sailor Uranus and coordinates to where she would be able to deliver the invitation. As she landed on the rooftop, she de-transformed into her Earthling counterpart [AN: Sailor Starfall prefers to be male outside of his senshi transformation]; three high school girls in their school uniforms walked up to her, now him, curiously.

Sailor Star Starfall did not need to see the Silver Moon Princess transform to recognize her. Usagi's peaceful radiance alone made her stand out from Makoto and Minako. He bowed low to Usagi, "Your highness Serenity, I am Sailor Star Starfall, or Kosoku," he spoke holding up an envelope in his hands to Usagi, "You and your senshi-in-waiting are cordially invited to be the guests of high honor to the Kinmoku Revival gala celebration."

Usagi had taken the envelope from Starfall's hands and pulled out a beautiful hand written invitation. The paper smelled like olive blossoms and a fresh summer day. She admired Princess Kakyuu's beautiful handwriting. Pouting in jealousy remembering her own lousy script. She handed the invitation over to Makoto to look the details through, "Thank you so much for delivering this invitation to us, Kosoku. Did you have an arduous journey?" Usagi asked the Starlight in formal mode.

Starfall stood and smiled at the petit princess, "Nay princess. As one of the faster Starlights, the trip was easy, considering the distance." As he stood at his full height of 5'10", the princess and senshi were able to take in his beauty.

Starfall was tall and slender with legs that looked as long as a mile. His long purple hair was tied to the side framing his high cheekbones and vivid green eyes.

Usagi's ears pricked up, waiting to hear the reaction Minako and Makoto would have to this purple haired speed god in front of them. Usagi thought to herself, _They are either going to be infatuated with him, or hate him._

"Are you staying for awhile before returning with our RSVP?" asked Makoto.

"Want some drinks or something to eat?" interjected Minako staring at the handsome Starlight.

The two inner senshi quickly turned to glare at each other.

"Thank you, but no, I had some refreshments at the Moon Kingdom on my way here." Starfall replied. "I was instructed to secrecy about this mission, and must return speedily."

"Forsooth, that is indeed unfortunate, but hopefully at the celebration we will all have time to befriend each other," Minako said, flirting with the tall beauty.

Makoto spoke up, not wanting to be left out of the conversation, "It would be great if your could show us around your home planet!"

Usagi giggled hearing Minako slip into middle speech, and Makoto trying to get Starfall's attention. _Man, woman, or both, it doesn't matter to these girls, does it?!_ Usagi laughed to herself. _They sure love beautiful people. _

Starfall smiled at Minako and Makoto who both flushed pink, and nodded, "As you say, Princess Venus, Princess Jupiter."

Usagi had to laugh out right at the interaction. "Then it looks like we will be seeing you in a few weeks then, Starfall. Please let Kakyuu-ojo know how much we're looking forward to seeing her and the Starlights again. It has been too long since they've left Earth."

Starfall took back the RSVP from Makoto and bowed again to the three ladies before him, "I shall, Princess Serenity."

"Safe travel home," interjected Minako as Sailor Star Starfall transformed and leapt into the air to shoot home.

"We'll see you soon!" waved Makoto.

Before they lost sight of her, she winked at them, causing Minako to squeal. "Kyaaaa!" and Makoto to say, "She is the COOLEST!"

Usagi laughed at her friends, "Honestly," declared Usagi, "Is everyone from that planet a cocky beauty?"

She couldn't wait to leave for Kinmoku.

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Yay! Things will start jumping around from here, so thanks with sticking with me thus far!

Ja'baibai xo~


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

Hello all! Sorry it took me a little longer for this update- I've been busy with work, but here is chapter 8!

I want to thank everyone for all their supportive words: James Birdsong, queenusagi, LoveInTheBattleField, princessnerak, nakomi and everyone else! You guys keep me writing! And thanks for everyone else who is following my story!

So don't hate me too much for this chapter, okay? I leave it kind of open-ended, but if enough people want more detail about what goes on, let me know and I'll edit it to be more explanatory.

Without further ado, enjoy! ::bows with gratitude::

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Chapter 8:

Meanwhile, in America, Mamoru was progressing through his studies. His professors were impressed with his ability to catch up on his work, despite having arrived half a year behind his fellow students. Mamoru told them all, he was held up due to a medical condition, which was kind of a macabre truth, death is kind of a medical condition.

Mamoru's time away from Usagi helped ease his sadness being away from his blonde bubbly girlfriend with whom he was on a 'break' with. Though Usagi's words during that sunset had shocked and upset him, he found new meaning to them after a few weeks. He knew that she granted him his freedom out of her love for him. He knew her that well, giving him the time and space to live his own life before going back to her, but the weight of destiny had lifted from his shoulders. And he found out that he liked that taste of freedom.

After taking a step back away from his relationship, he realized that the love that he felt for Usagi was calmer and less turbulent. He realized that as much as he loved her, he wasn't IN love with her. When he thought about her these days, he felt the need to be protective and caring, but not romantic. His feelings had changed to where he thought of her more as a sister, than a lover. She would always be a part of him, and he would always care about her and protect her, but in this life, they were just too different to be compatible lovers.

At first these traitorous thoughts made him sleepless at night, tossing and turning thinking about what an awful person he was for not loving someone he was supposed to be destined with; someone he was supposed to have a CHILD with. As the nights went on, arguing with himself into a downward spiral, he had stopped eating and sleeping altogether because of the guilt. It was in the middle of the night during one of his worst episodes that Usagi called him. _Somehow_, he thought, _she always knows_.

He picked up his phone, "Usa-ko."

"Momo-chan," she said sadly, "You need to stop doing this to yourself."

He started to tell her that nothing was wrong, but he couldn't lie to her. "I'm so sorry Usa-ko."

"Mamo-chan, it's Okay," she paused. "Hold on one moment, okay?"

"Huh? Alright," he replied.

A moment later a light streaked across the sky, and a glow landed on the balcony to his apartment. Mamoru looked up with the phone still up to his ear. On the other side of the sliding screen was Princess Serenity, phone still up to her ear, smiling sadly at him.

He heard her voice through the phone, "Could you please let me in, Mamo-chan? I think I'd like to talk to you, face to face." He could see tears slowly gliding down her face, shining in the moonlight.

He got up and flipped his phone closed to let her in. [AN: I don't know why I gave Mamoru a flip phone. -_-; it seemed appropriate somehow… cuz he acts like such a geezer all the time.]

~.~

Usagi got up the next day, tired. Her heart was totally broken. Her heart to heart with Mamo-chan last night was a lot more painful than she had expected. She had felt it slowly, through the past couple of weeks; the change in his love for her. When she suggested they needed time and space, she didn't think that her prince would fall out of love with her. It was a risk, but she didn't think it would become a reality.

Honestly, Usagi thought that all Mamoru needed was time away to focus on his schoolwork and his medical career. She thought that their love was strong and that they would be back together after Mamoru finished medical school to start their lives together and their family.

Her eyes unfocused as she remembered sitting on Mamoru's bed with him holding her hands apologizing over and over again. What could she do? They couldn't force themselves to fall back in love. She loved him too much to let him continue to be in such agony over their supposed future and even their future child.

She reached up to her puffy eyes and sighed. _I guess when you take fate in your own hands, things will happen that you don't want to._ She said to herself.

Part of her, felt glad that Mamoru was able to tell her how he felt about 'them'. At least he wasn't leaving her in the dark, or lying about it. She listened to him and cried in his arms, forgiving him of course, she really needed to think about what he meant when he said that he loved her more like a sister. She thought she was still in love with him, but as he had described his feelings the night before, some of his descriptions eerily fit exactly how she felt about him as well. But did that mean that she wasn't IN love him?

"Ughhhh," she groaned to herself, trying to get the energy to roll out of bed. _ Good thing today is our day off, or I would definitely have been late to school. _ The thought relaxed her enough to smile, imagining herself running out of the house trying to get to school in time.

"Maybe I should talk to Minako and Makoto about this," she said aloud to herself. She felt the need to surround herself with her friends; her heart was feeling lonely.

~.~

"Oh Usagi…" Makoto said sympathetically. "I am so sorry…"

The three friends were sitting in a booth at Crown Café. Usagi, trying to prevent tears from spilling from her eyes, shook her head at them.

"I know that things can still change in the future, and that maybe we'll fall in love again," she sniffled trying desperately to hold back her tears. "But…." She lowered her head down. Tears trailed slowly down her face falling onto her hands clasped tight in her lap. "But… I didn't think it would happen at all." She sobbed into her hands, covering her face.

Makoto and Minako looked at each other. Makoto reached her arms around Usagi, trying to comfort her.

_What do we do?!_ She mouthed at Minako.

_Give me a minute! _Minako mouthed back as Makoto rubbed Usagi's back that was shaking with her quiet sobs.

"Everything will be okay," Minako spoke softly to Usagi, bending over closer to her friend. "I mean, I am the goddess of love afterall, right? And I know that everything is going to work out."

Usagi's cries slowed down into sniffles. "You really think so?" she asked. "I feel so alone. What it something I did? Will I ever find someone who loves me for me, and not because of a destiny?" she spat out the word bitterly.

"Of course! I know!" she exclaimed! "We've been so busy with school and training for the School Show, we haven't had anytime to have some real fun!"

Usgai sniffed again, "Fun?" she asked.

"Yeah! It'll be a great time!" exclaimed Makoto seeing that Minako was trying to distract Usagi from falling into an even deeper depression.

"I know!" Minako said, "There's a concert at the theme park with this new popular band! We should play in the park all day and then watch the concert at night!"

"Oh! You mean the Titans?! No way!? They're going to playing at the theme park?!" clapped Makoto, "They're amazing Usagi! You'll love them!"

Usagi finally catching on to her friends' excitement broke out into a small smile up to her friends, "You think? It sounds like it'll be fun."

"Alright then! It's a date! Our next day off, let's all go play at the theme park!" Minako exclaimed, "And I will not take no for an answer, or I will punish you, in the name of the love Goddess Venus!"

Minako imitated Sailor Moon's pose, eliciting a laugh from both Makoto and Usagi. She could see that Usagi was still torn up about Mamoru, but she knew that everything was going to be all right. Usagi just needed some tlc from her friends and maybe a new crush to get over Mamoru.

_It will all turn out just fine, my Princess, _Minako thought, _I know from deep down in my heart, someone is waiting out there just for you._

* * *

And so there it is. I'm not the biggest fan of Mamoru, but I think that he deserves some credit as well.

I should be able to bang out chapter 9 hopefully by tomorrow, so please bear with me and thank you for your patience!

Let me know what you think!

ja'na xo~


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

Hey All! I'm at over 2200 views! I'm overwhelmed with gratitude. Thank you for reading so far and sticking with me through this! I want to send a big thanks to all my reviewers, followers and the ppl who PM me; I LOVE the convos we have about SM! Keep em coming! I also want to send a special shout out to Sailorearth19 who has a very promising fanfic up! You guys should check it out!

Without further ado, enjoy! ::Bows in gratitude::

* * *

Chapter 9:

Their next day off was perfect. The sun was high without a cloud in the sky. A cool breeze flowed through the air. Usagi and her Inner Senshi were all ready to have fun at the theme park.

Minako and Makoto met up with Ami and Rei in front of the theme park entrance waiting for Usagi letting them know what had happened between Usagi and Mamoru in the previous week.

"How is she taking it?" Ami asked first, interrupting the anger exuding from Rei.

Rei scoffed, "Heartbroken of course! She's probably been crying for days! How could he do this to HER?" she growled at her friends.

Minako looked over to Ami, seeing the concern written all over her face. "She'll be all right, Ami. She's just sad and lonely."

"And that's why we're here today! Okay!?" exclaimed Makoto. "No fighting today, no bickering- let's just have some fun with Usagi and cheer her up!"

"It's probably exactly what she needs right now," Rei sighed, her shoulders slumping, the fire of the fight flowing out of her. As much as she wanted to teleport to America and throttle Mamoru, making Usagi happy was more important, for now.

"It will be a good distraction until we leave for Kinmoku at the very least," Ami nodded to herself knowing how much Usagi was looking forward to the trip out of their solar system.

Minako nodded along with everyone, "And who knows, maybe there'll be an even better distraction at Kinmoku for her!" she sang.

Makoto eyed her suspiciously, " And just what are you trying to get at?!"

Minako looked wide-eyed and innocent, "Oh nothing…"

Ami giggled to herself as she realized whom Minako was talking about, "You may be right about that! I think a party in Kinomoku is just what Usagi needs!"

"I wonder how Kakyuu and the rest of the Starlights are doing," mused Rei. She felt particularly connected with the Fireball princess for obvious reasons.

Makoto jumped up waving to Usagi who was walking up the steps to the theme park entrance, "Well, we'll all find out in a few weeks, won't we. Until then, let's just keep our princess's spirits up, shall we?"

~.~

Usagi greeted her friends cheerfully, excited to be able to spend time with them outside of their senshi duties. She had missed their closeness that came with study sessions, but with everyone's schedules, they haven't had much time to simply hang out.

"You ready to do this, Usa-chan?" exclaimed Minako. She ran up and grabbed Usagi's hand, pulling her through the entrance gate.

She laughed as her friend pulled her towards a roller coaster. "Let's all try this one, mina?!"

"Let's try them all!" a pumped up Makoto said, "We could do the theme park challenge to see if we can do all of the rides in one day! And there's a prize if we do!"

Excitement lit up in Ami's eyes, "Let's do it! Maybe we'll get some free stuff as a prize!" The Princess of Mercury could not help but be a little competitive, as was her nature; after all, Mercurians liked being the best at things.

Everyone agreed to attempt the theme park challenge having to go on every single ride in the park. The girls gathered their courage for the scariest roller coasters that the park threw at them, twirling them up and around at incredible speeds and they even took the pointed fingers and snickering as they crammed themselves into the kids rides. They spun around until they were ready to puke and they dropped from heights that they could have sworn was as high up as being on the moon, but at the end of their adventure, with only fifteen minutes left to the deadline for the challenge, only one ride lay between them and the prize. The Haunted Mansion.

The five girls clutched each other looking at the creepy entrance to the ride.

"This is the last ride we have to take in order to win," said Rei, trying to keep an even tone in her voice.

They had all heard the rumors about this ride; it was why they all had avoided it from the very beginning. It was said that the mansion was a home that was originally located on the property before it had turned into a theme park. The park had tried to demolish it several times, but every time they had tried, unnatural things had started to occur. The machines would stop working, and every bulldozer that was meant to tear it down, would just stop, feet from the walls of the house. They had even tried to demolish it via explosives, but the explosives never went off, that is until they had been removed. Several people had almost been killed. So, it had made sense to the theme park owners to just turn the house into a haunted ride, as it seemed that was what it really was.

And so they stood, grasping each other's hands waiting for someone to take a step forward into the mansion.

"We're running out of time, guys," informed Minako. She was NOT thrilled to be going into the Haunted Mansion.

Ami shook herself, and tried to use logic to calm her friends, "Come one guys, I'm sure it's not that bad. They would never make the ride dangerous for anyone."

Makoto shook her head and inhaled deeply. "Let's just get it over with."

Taking a bold step forward, Makoto led her friends, all still holding each other's hands into the ride.

Approximately ten minutes later five girls ran screaming from the exit of the haunted house.

Rei's face was ashen with a cold sweat forming around her temples. Ami, attempted a calm façade, but her hands were trembling so hard her bag, which she was holding, shook. Minako was heaving, trying to catch her breath from screaming so much. And Makoto who was still pumped from the adrenaline from the ride felt like she was losing the feeling in her hands. Well, one hand in particular, her right hand. She looked down to her hand, and realized that Usagi still grasped her hand with her eyes still closed. Usagi was in fact holding her hand so hard, her circulation was stopping.

"Usagi, my hand," she started to say.

"I-i-is it over?" Usagi stuttered.

"It's over, I promise," Makoto replied, prying her hand out of Usagi's death grip.

Usagi peaked one eye open first, and then the other, letting out a massive sigh of relief.

"Usagi…" asked Ami curiously, "How long were your eyes closed during the ride?"

Usagi looked up from her sigh, her ears turning pink. "Um…"

"YOU HAD YOUR EYES CLOSED FOR THE ENTIRE TIME, DIDN'T YOU?" yelled Rei.

Usagi looked at Rei, attempting to convey innocence in her big blue eyes. Her red face gave her away without her saying anything.

Tension filled the air as the five friends looked at each other, moments later they all burst out laughing. It turns out that they all had closed their eyes literally running through the mansion.

"Let's NEVER do that again, shall we?" laughed Minako.

"We don't need to! Look!" Ami proclaimed, holding up their challenge ticket completed! "We won! Let's go claim our prize!"

~.~

The prize for the challenge was back stage passes to that night's concert. The girls freshened up and changed just in time for the show to start. The headliner for the show was the Titans, a newly popular boy band that mixed rock ballads and electronic music. The girls loved the music and the five singers were very attractive. The lead singer had long sleek hair tied up in a ponytail, he immediately reminded Usagi of Seiya. She found her mind wandering from the show to the leader of the Lights.

Usagi knew that Seiya had deeper feelings for her more than just as a friend, but she had been so focused on Shadow Galactica and saving her friends and loved ones, that she couldn't really recall their interactions with a clear mind; that entire time, she was just too distraught to think clearly. She cared about him, heck, she even considered him one of her best friends after everything he had done for her. But at that moment, when he had asked "_Am I not good enough_?" He wasn't. If he were, he never would have asked it.

_I wonder how he's doing._ She thought to herself, swaying to the love song that the Titans were singing. She did know and remember that Seiya, as cocky and narcissistic as he acted, was nothing like that. She remembered his presence being warm and comforting. She knew that she was safe with him and that he could understand her and where she was coming from he had become a really good friend to her one of her best friends. _I can't wait to see him again._ She thought, smiling into the end of the night.

Usagi looked back at her friends, dancing and squealing in delight from the music, the gorgeous singers and just being with each other. She felt her sadness lift from her heart. _Thank you guys. _She thought to them. _No one ever had truer friends thank you._

* * *

Light and fluffy right? It's going to start picking up from here, get ready for it! I've been on a writing roll today, maybe I'll be able to bang out another chapter. If not, maybe next weekend as my schedule is going to change for me to be at work at 4am -_-; oh ye life of a baker.

Please let me know what you think!

ja'

~ciel


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

Okay! Last chapter of the weekend! I was on a roll and I hope you all enjoy! Keep those review coming, and thanks for the SMC ep4 reminder, LoveInTheBattleField!

I wanted to delve a little more into Usagi's changes to give you a sense of how powerful she's getting. There's a method to all this madness, thanks for sticking with it! Sorry for the chapter being so long -_-;

Enjoy! ::bows in gratitude::

* * *

Chapter 10:

A couple of weeks after their adventure at the theme park and a week before leaving for Kinmoku, Usagi found herself at Rei's temple. At the beginning of the new school term Rei found Usagi coming to the temple every week to study, catch up and meditate. It was during these visits that Rei came to understand just how much Usagi was changing. Rei was always a faithful senshi to Sailor Moon, but that didn't mean that every once in awhile Usagi didn't test her temper. Before, she thought that Usagi was too indecisive and too weak, in almost every sense of the word. It was hard to respect a leader like that in her mind; but as time went by, post-Galactic war, she realized that Usagi was still growing. At first she noticed the little things, like how Usagi would actually focus on her school work after inhaling some afternoon snacks, and how even though she was still a little clumsy, there was a certain grace about her, despite tripping and running into things.

What made Rei truly respect Usagi, was when they started to meditate together. Usagi had shyly asked if Rei could teach her how to meditate properly. Rei was taken aback, but happily agreed. It wasn't that Usagi was trying to become a miko, she just wanted to learn a method to clear her mind and help her focus. Rei taught her the basics of clearing her mind and controlling her breathing, but surprisingly, Usagi picked up meditating like a fish in water. Usagi joked that of course she would excel in an act of clearing her mind and doing nothing, winking at Rei while Rei rolled her eyes.

Rei would normally sit in front of the shrines fire while Usagi sat a little behind her to her right, over the weeks of Usagi learned how to put herself into a calm state of mind. As she found her inner peace she was able to feel the world around her better. Rei noticed her visions in the fire were becoming clearer and the fire would burn brightly. She realized it was because Usagi was there with her, magnifying her psychic powers. With each week that passed Usagi's aura as they meditated continued to shine brighter and brighter. On a whim Rei had Usagi sit next to her, with their knees touching while they meditated and the proximity increased Rei's powers almost 10 fold.

Usagi had wanted to learn how to meditate because her lunar mother, Queen Serenity had said that meditation was a great way to garner her focus and powers. Usagi had mentioned that she felt a connection or a tie to everything and everyone around her, she could feel the lives of the people of planet earth, she could feel the lives of the star seeds in other planets throughout their galaxy, she was even beginning to feel the lives of the stars. It was very overwhelming for her. Queen Serenity was first surprised by this, but understood that her daughter's power was getting exponentially stronger. She suggested meditation as a way of clearing her head and being able to discern and organize all the newfound power she was experiencing in her mind.

So there they were, a few weeks after the Titan's show and Rei and Usagi were meditating side by side as usual. Rei could tell from Usagi's concentration that she was worried about something. In the recesses of her mind, Usagi could feel a darkness growing that wasn't there before. She couldn't pinpoint it, or tell if it was a true evil or just part of the life cycle of a particular planet.

Rei could tell that something had changed about Usagi's powers, but she hadn't disclosed anything new to her senshi as of yet. She would give their princess time to sort through her thoughts, Usagi would eventually tell them what was up. Rei was more concerned about how Usagi's heart was taking the break-up.

Once they were alone Rei had honestly asked her princess if she wanted her to go beat up Mamoru and burn all his school research. Usagi had almost laughed and told her no, to Rei's disappointment. Rei remembered the conversation clearly.

"Are you sure I can't go over there and just beat him up a little?" Rei had almost whined.

Usagi actually giggled at Rei actually begging to do something for her. "No Rei. I'm sure. He's got enough guilt on his conscience without also getting beat up over it." She ginned almost mischievously, "Besides, we both know I can't control what Haruka will do once she finds out. Even if I order her not to, even if my _mother_ orders her not to, I don't think she'd listen. Does that make you feel better?"

An almost predatorial smirk broke out on to Rei's face. "It will do," was all she simply said. It was enough. _Oh to be a fly on the wall when Uranus does find out._

Back on the moon Queen Serenity had a predicament. She knew what had transpired between her daughter and the Prince of the Earth. Queen Serenity and the Princess Serenity had actually learned to communicate via telepathy the first week the Queen had come back to life. It took power from them both, but the benefits far exceeded the cost of being able to communicate. Besides, it was easier than teleporting back and forth to the Moon. The Queen's heart broke for her daughter; through the commune that they had, she could feel the devastation that her daughter had felt with the loss of the love. She consoled Usagi telling her that her and Mamoru not being together was okay. Even though in their past lives they had been together, it didn't mean that had to be together in this life.

"Sere-ko dear, you are not your past life. You have different experiences, you have a different memories. You don't have to force yourself to be exactly like your past life," Queen Serenity thought to her daughter. Thinking of the tragedy that had resulted in their past lives, Queen Serenity was totally okay with things not turning out the same.

"But Sere-mama," Usagi had nicknamed her mother, a name that Queen Serenity had become very fond of.

Queen Serenity interrupted her thought, "Sere-ko, everything will be alright. You will be all right." She chucked, "Besides, if both of us were exactly like out Goddess, we would have encased our loves in an endless sleep to keep him eternally young. And I KNOW we both wouldn't do that."

Usagi almost choked on her breath when we heard that. "Sere-mama! Honestly!"

"It's just the mythology behind our namesake dear," her mother laughed back. "The Goddess Serenity was wise and beautiful, but also put her lover in an enchanted sleep and had 50 daughters with him that way, or so saying the goes."

Queen Serenity could feel apprehension through the commune she had with her daughter. "Sere-mama, I don't know how I'm going to tell Haruka and Michiru. I mean, if Setsuna wasn't still encased in crystal, Haruka would already be here hauling me back to America to patch things up with Mamoru," said quietly.

Queen Serenity could understand her daughter's apprehension. "I'll take care of it, Sere-ko. I promise. You have enough on your plate." She sent a feeling of confidence and love to her daughter. For the rest of their conversation she asked how the adventure went at the theme park and if Usagi was ready to her trip to Kinmoku.

~.~

Back to the predicament on hand, Queen Serenity had to figure out how to break the news to Neptune, Saturn and the over protective Uranus. She wasn't sure how Saturn would take it, for her young age, Hotaru carried incredible wisdom. She knew how Haruka would take it; it all just depended on how bad her reaction would be.

Queen Serenity shook her head and thought to herself, _Stop slacking. You're a queen. Time to act like one. Being a queen isn't all roses and balls after all._ She stood from her overstuffed chair in her private sitting room and called her maid, Mika, "Mika-chan, could you call Sailors Saturn, Neptune and Uranus to the throne room for me for an informal audience, please?"

Mika curtsied, "Of course your Majesty," turning swiftly on her heel and marching down the hallway. Mika took her job very seriously as the handmaiden of Queen Serenity.

Queen Serenity inhaled deeply and walked to the throne room and sat on her throne regally trying to maintain her composure, she was still unsure of how to break the news. The outer senshi entered the throne room and walked up curiously to the dais. They bowed to one knee.

"You called for us, your majesty?" said Haruka with an even tone. She suspected something was up.

The Queen looked into each of the outer senshi's eyes. "I will be blunt," she stated. "And I want you three to hear me out before you say anything," she continued quite coldly.

Neptune was taken aback at the tone their Queen had taken with them.

"The Prince of the Earth Mamoru has broken off his relationship with the Moon Princess Serenity," came the blunt words.

Silence.

"And you are not to do a thing about it, to either of them."

Then all hell broke loose. Well. Not all hell, but Haruka managed to make up enough noise to make it seem so. Sailor Uranus leapt up to her feet, roaring, "WHAT?!"

The Queen had visibly flinched as the outraged senshi looked at her with wide eyes and open mouth. She thought she could see steam coming from her ears.

"YOU WILL HALT," boomed Queen Serenity's voice, with the strength of the Goddess.

Sailor Neptune interrupted before Uranus could get another word out, also rising to her feet, "Please, your majesty, can you please explain?!" with concern laced in voice bordering on panic.

"How did it happen?" demanded Sailor Uranus, her cold voice sending shivers down everyone's spine in the room.

Sailor Neptune turned to her lover and partner, "You mean how _could_ it happen?" she said sadly.

Sailor Saturn, who had just stood there looking frightened, turned her toward her Haruka-papa, "They fell out of love with each other," she said simply. "It happens."

All eyes turned to Hotaru.

"You knew?" Michiru asked her kindly, not wanting to frighten her anymore.

Hotaru nodded. "Princess Serenity came to visit me a few weeks ago." Haruka almost interrupted her, but Michiru gestured for her silence, "We went out to get ice cream. She was really sad," Hotaru explained. "I asked her what was wrong, and she started crying, apologizing to me, saying that she wasn't going to be Chibiusa's mommy."

Michiru unconsciously reached out for Haruka. Haruka grabbed her hand and held it tight. She could feel Michiru shaking with emotion.

"B-but the-the future!?" desperately cried Haruka.

Queen Serenity watched, with bated breath.

Hotaru shook her head. "The future is not set in stone, remember? Really Haruka-papa, I said so already. The future changes with every decision we all make; there are several paths we are on, but only one will be traveled according to the decisions we make. Setsuna-mama knew that she was not supposed to reveal any of the arcs, but she did anyway. That's why grandpapa Chronos was so annoyed with her."

Despite the severity of the situation, the corners of Queen Serenity's mouth turned up, the God Chronos would get a kick out of being called a grandpapa.

"Are you okay with that, Hotaru-chan?" Michiu's voice shook. "About the Princess not being Chibiusa's mommy?"

Hotaru looked up at Michiru with surprise. "Oh, that. Well that's alright," she said nonchalantly.

Haruka, Michiru and Queen Serenity looked at the young girl with shock. "What?!" they all said.

Hotaru continued, "Princess Serenity already explained to me that Chibiusa's star seed had already been born, so it's not a problem. She may not be the Princess Serenity's daughter, but she's already exists out there in the galaxy somewhere. I'll find her," she explained patiently as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Seriously, why did adults have to over exaggerate everything?

"How does she know that?" asked Haruka, starting to calm down from her surprise and anger.

Hotaru shrugged, "Only the princess can answer that, I just know she's right."

Michiru gasped, of course, it all made sense now, "She has the sight?" She turned to look at the queen sitting on her throne, who just nodded.

"So what do we do now?" asked Haruka defensively. Clearly, she did NOT like surprises. Her world was just turned upside down and their purpose was blind-sided by the unknown future. How could they protect the future if they didn't know what was supposed to happen?!

"Well, there are a few unalterable facts," the Queen said, "One, that no matter what happens, the princess still needs your protection and the Earth still needs your protection."

"Of course!" Haruka snapped to attention.

"And we still need to gauge just how extensive the change across the galaxy is from everyone's star seeds being revived. I would like to start an inter-galactic embassy for all peaceful planets to get together and maybe that way we can avoid another Shadow Galactica. We need to learn to communicate more with our neighboring solar systems. I want you three, and Sailor Pluto when she wakes up, to spearhead this for me."

"Yes, your majesty," the three outer senshi responded bowing.

"That is all. Please, I understand that you're upset to hear about Usagi and Mamoru, but I think for now, we just need to leave them alone," the queen's voice turned stern, "There will be SEVERE repercussions if I am disobeyed, do you understand, Sailor Uranus?"

Haruka blushed, "Yes your majesty," bowing her head.

The three senshi walked out of the throne room, their minds buzzing with the information overload. The queen was certainly going to keep an eyes on them on top of keeping them busy.

The queen collapsed onto her throne. "WHEW. That was awkward," she said.

Luna popped out from behind the throne, "I think you handled that extremely well your majesty!"

"Oh Luna! You were there?" the queen picked up her feline friend, snuggling her closer to her face. "She's getting much stronger, isn't she?"

"Does that worry you?" Luna replied curiously to her queen.

"The maboroshi crystal only gets as powerful as it needs to. The darker the darkness, the lighter the light. It's the eternal balance that even the gods can't undo. I fear for what's coming, Luna," the queen said as she shivered at the thought. With Usagi getting this powerful, something evil and big, was going to come.

"Have faith in her, your majesty," Luna replied evenly. "I know I do."

* * *

And there you have it! I hope you all enjoyed! Depending on how I acclimate to my new work schedule I may have another chapter sometime this week- if not- maybe Friday or Sat should be my next posting!

Thank you again for reading, and let me know if you're enjoying the story!

ja'baibai

~ciel


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

Hello everyone! Again, thank you to everyone that has sent me reviews! I'm so grateful! And thank you for continuing to read this story!

Enjoy! ::bows in gratitude::

* * *

Chapter 11:

The day was finally upon the inner senshi to make their trip to Kinmoku. Usagi had gotten together with Ami to map out their trip and she estimated their travel time to be approximately 3 days with their current accumulated Sailor Star Power. The trip would be exhausting, so the girls gave themselves 5 days to make the trip, so they could rest up before the gala. It was no use showing up just to be exhausted through the party.

The Inner Senshi, packed light, Princess Kinmoku had sent in her letter that they would take care of everything for them, from their dresses to their everyday wear. The girls had fabricated a month long backpacking trip through Europe to their parents for the summer, and surprisingly enough, all of their respective guardians took it. With well wishes and understanding that there would be little to no communication, they stood at the top of their high school at twilight, to get the best trajectory for their trip.

Everyone's spirits were high, and they were all excited to see what it was like on Kinmoku. Minako around at her friends, "Are we all ready, minasan?!" she asked excitedly.

"Let's do this!" exclaimed Makoto.

"I think our trip will be smooth! Let's go!" said Ami cheerfully.

"Let's go already!" growled Rei.

Usagi just smiled and grabbed her brooch, "Moon Eternal Makeup!"

"Venus Crystal Power!"

"Mars Crystal Power!"

"Mercury Crystal Power!"

"Jupiter Crystal Power!"

The inner senshi and Eternal Sailor Moon were ready for teleportation.

"Eternal Sailor Moon?" asked Venus. "You can morph into your eternal form without the Holy Moon Chalice?!"

Eternal Sailor Moon smiled and just winked at Venus. "Let's join hands!"

The inner senshi and eternal Sailor Moon stepped together and joined their hands into a circle. "Sailor Teleportation!"

Energy gathered together in each of the girls so brightly that it lit up the dusky sky. When it seemed that their energy couldn't get any brighter, they shot up into the sky faster than the speed of light.

Queen Serenity who was watching for their safe departure wished them well with her heart. "Have fun ladies," she whispered to their shooting star fading into the darkness. "Be careful."

~.~

The party on Kinmoku was almost ready to kick off. The party had been extended from its original one day to lasting an entire five days of festivities. There was just too much that the people of Kinmoku wanted to celebrate to do it all in just one or two days. Parties were going to happen all across the planet with music shows, parades, food stands and on the very last night there was going to be music, dancing and fireworks in all of the cities across the planet.

The Four Lights were headlining the main musical event and they were grateful for the two-month planning period in order to get their music ready. It had felt good to work as a four-person band again. Each of the members sorely felt the absence of Tooru when they were making music on Earth, and they let her know as much.

"What was Earth like?" Tooru asked her band members during a break from practicing twirling her drumsticks between her fingers. She hadn't had the courage to ask before; Yaten, Taiki and Seiya exchanged a look. _Where to being? _They hadn't spoken much about Earth. Partly because they had been so busy, partly because leaving Earth still hurt too much.

"It's a much bigger planet than our own, first of all," Taiki explained first. "There are nine planets in their solar system, and Earth itself has one moon."

Tooru laughed. Taiki was such a stickler for facts. "I don't care about the solar system, duh!" she said sardonically. "I want to know what it's like being on the planet itself."

"There are too many people, they're loud and annoying and they don't all get along. They segregate themselves and fight amongst each other over natural resources." Yaten said, thinking more out loud to herself. "We mostly spent our time in Tokyo, Japan."

"What's Japan?" Tooru asked curiously.

"Tokyo is the Capital of a small island country; it's where we eventually found our princess healing herself in Sailor Moon's home," explained Taiki.

Seiya finally contributed to the conversation, fond memories eliciting her response, "Earth is a lot of fun. It's like here, there are a lot of people, some good, some bad, some very special and amazing. The food is great! And the women are even better!" she winked at her sister.

Tooru laughed as Taiki and Yaten groaned.

Seiya turned to Taiki and Yaten, "Don't tell me you disagree about my comment about the women?" she egged them on.

Taiki lightly blushed as her thoughts ran to Ami and Yaten growled something indiscernible and probably rude under her breath.

This was an opportunity that Tooru couldn't pass up, "Ohhh? And how would you know, Sei-chan, what unfortunate woman was forced to bear your ego?!" she asked her twin mischievously.

The tables turned and Seiya turned bright red to the bemusement of her twin and two other band mates. Clearly, Seiya had not been totally honest about her time on Earth to her twin.

Seiyas pride kicked in even as her heart clenched at the memory; she softly said, "She wasn't just a woman, she is brightest star in the Universe." She stood up and slowly walked out of the music studio where they had been practicing, guitar in hand.

Tooru had no idea her little joke would lead to Seiya walking out of practice. She turned to Taiki and Yaten, demand in her voice, "What just happened right now?"

Taiki and Yaten looked at each other, wondering what to tell Tooru. To Taiki's surprise, Yaten spoke up first, "You know I would give you any ammo to torment Seiya with, but about this, she needs to be the one you hear it from. Not us," she looked over to Taiki who nodded at her with a small sad smile.

"I guess all we can say, is that Seiya left part of her heart on Earth," Taiki said, he paused for a moment meeting Yaten's downcast eyes, "We all did."

~.~

The inner senshi and Sailor Moon were well on their way to Kinmoku and their energy had not sapped all that much. Their speed was almost twice the power that she had calculated. _Where is all this power coming from?_ Ami asked herself.

All of a sudden the power veered them slightly off course. None of the other senshi could tell, but a force that she could not control was taking them somewhere besides Kinmoku. They entered a solar system far smaller than their original destination and teleported down onto a small technological planet with high skyscrapers and large dull seas about the size of the planet Mercury. They landed on a platform just at the edge of a murky ocean. Up above over the land, rolled a large dark cloud with an ominous feeling.

The senshi opened their eyes from their teleportation and looked around. They immediately knew they were not in Kinmoku, A feeling of foreboding descended the scouts. Something was not right on this planet. They could hear screaming coming from inland, it sounded like an apocalypse.

Eternal Sailor Moon's eyes were flashing with great concern. "Come minasan. We have a mission here before continuing on to Kinmoku."

All of the senshi's head swiveled to look at their princess, "Do you know where we are?" asked Ami.

"Sailor Moon!?" a voice called out to the group in disbelief.

The senshi and Sailor Moon turned to locate the voice that called them. Sailor Tin Nyanko was clinging onto a lamppost to hold herself up; her white fuku torn and stained with blood and dirt. Venus looked at Tin Nyanko, shock in her eyes, "We're on Mau?!"

* * *

And the plot thickens! I'm sorry to all those that are waiting for everyone to FINALLY get to Kinmoku, they will get there, I PROMISE! But First! What has happened on Planet Mau?! O_O

I'm pretty busy this weekend, but I will try my hardest to get another chapter uploaded this Sunday. No promises tho. Thanks for reading! I would love to hear what you think of it so far! If you like a reply, please PM me!

Ja'na!


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

Hello everyone! Big thank you to QueenUsagi, princessnerack (muchas gracias por la review!), sailorearth19, loveinthebattlefield, .k, 1e and everyone else for the reviews and to all my readers/followers!

::bows with gratitude:: ENJOY!

* * *

Chapter 12:

Everyone's thoughts disappeared as Sailor Moon ran to Sailor Tin Nyanko to help her up. The senshi chased after her.

"Sailor Moon! It's you! Please! Can you help us?!" cried Tin Nyanko, tears running down her face that was dirty and scratched up.

"What happened here Sailor Tin Nyanko?!" asked Sailor Moon.

"Great black clouds came over each of our cities one by one," sobbed Tin Nyanko, "It polluted our air and our minds! Everyone started to fight each other, even amongst some of the senshi! So many people have already died. I can't find the royal family! The prince is only a child! Please Sailor Moon, you have to help us!"

"Of course I'll help, of course we'll help." There was no time for arguing. They needed facts about this alien planet and what ailed it.

Ami's mind raced with facts, "Have you been able to locate the source of these clouds?"

Tin Nyanko looked at the Sol-ar Systetm senshi with gratitude in her kitty-slit eyes. "Yes! It's coming from the southern pole of our planet!" Mercury nodded and started typing into her mini computer. Maps and graphs of that location of the planet Mau projected around her as she typed furiously onto the hologram keyboard.

"Have you been able to detect if certain parts of your planet have been safe from the cloud?" asked Jupiter next.

"There are no clouds over any of the bodies of water on our planet," she replied distastefully.

Rei asked next, "Is it from an outside enemy? Do you think you're being under attack?"

"We have advanced technology to warn us and ward off any type of alien attack. This is coming from our own planet, and not from any outside source."

Venus looked at each of the senshi and her princess, a plan formulated in her mind. "I got it! Sailor Tin Nyanko, can you and any other remaining senshi from your planet take as many people as you can into boats over your bodies of water?"

"We Maus dislike water very much, but we will do it!" Tin Nyanko said desperately.

"Good, restrain them if you have to, but get them out from inside that cloud," continued Venus, "We'll head to the southern pole and see what we can do."

Mercury looked up from her quick research, "It seems as if there is a massive ball of negative energy there. It's exuding evil creating this cloud."

"Alright, we know what to do, let's move it people!" Rei said as she clapped her hands hard.

Sailor Tin Nyanko whistled shrilly and several other senshi popped out of the surrounding buildings, all looked tired and worn, but not defeated. "Let's save our people! And find the royal family!" Some of the Mau senshi yowled loudly and scampered back into the sprawling city, while others ran to organize boats to carry their people.

Sailor Moon and her senshi teleported to the southern pole of the planet which was devoid of any life and were confronted with a terrifying sight. A massive hole, the size a small city gaped where the southern pole should have been, and it was spewing the dark clouds that were being carried off by some unfelt wind.

"This planet is dying," realized Mercury sadly, looked up from her data.

"Is that what's happening?!" asked Mars. She looked around. "I think what they've done here is disgusting," she coughed. The air there was bad.

"What do you mean, Mars?" asked Jupiter.

"You can feel it all around you, these people have not been kind to their planet. It's all metal and pollution. Nothing green, nothing growing. No wonder their planet is dying." Retorted Mars.

Sailor Moon raised her hand to her nose trying to keep from breathing in the noxious fumes, "It's not just dying, it's pissed," she said between coughs. "The planet is angry for being treated this way. She won't go down without a fight. We need to close this gap. Please, Jupiter, Mars, can you create an earthquake strong enough?"

"I can try!" exclaimed Jupiter as she gathered her strength. "JUPITER OAK REVOLUTION!"

"MARS FLAME SNIPER!" Both attacks were targeted to the ground, and slowly, the earth toward the gap started to crumble onto each other slowly closing the gap and the smoke emitting from it. All the senshi released their most powerful attacks a few more times trying to get the gap to close.

"MERCURY DOUBLE BUBBLE FREEZING!" yelled Mercury, blasting the remaining opening with frozen bubbles of ice that froze anything the bubbles touched.

"It will hold for now, but not for too long," said Venus. "We have got to find out how to heal the this planet."

Ami looked down onto her data of the planet, "I don't even know if it can be done…"

Rei, who took the treatment of the planet personally, growled back, "We can't just do nothing."

"But what can we do? We've never had a planet be the bad guy, and it's not really the planet's fault!" snapped Makoto.

The fumes still in the air subtly worked its poison against the senshi, clouding their judgment as they continued to argue amongst each other. Eternal Sailor Moon stood there with her eyes closed, meditating as the senshi started yelling at each other.

"It can be done," whispered Sailor Moon, she turned to her senshi and slowly walked into the middle of their argument. She appeared to be in a trance. The senshi stopped talking seeing their princess in a daze.

She could feel the planet's anger, but also it's desire to live. "Maboroshi Crystal, onegaishimasu," the Sailor Moon whispered to her brooch. A bright flash shone from the crystal and where Eternal Sailor Moon once stood, was now Princess Serenity. "Please minasan. I need your help in order to save this world."

The warmth from the crystal was ablw to clear the minds of the senshi, they chastised themselves in their own heads for letting the fumes get to them. But nevertheless, the senshi nodded to each other and circled around their princess, holding hands. They focused on their remaining power of their planets and sent it all to Princess Serenity.

Princess Serenity stood with her hands clasped to her heart and prayed, she prayed for the people of the planet Mau to her; to hear the pleas of their own planet. "Please! Stop fighting! Can't you all see what you're doing to each other?! What you've been doing to your planet?!" she cried into the minds of the people. "You are an intelligent and independent race, but you've abused your world, and now it's dying, and everyone will die! Help me save your planet!" she continued to plead.

The Maus stopped dead in their tracks from the chaos that was around them hearing the call of a bright light begging with them. It was if a fresh breeze shot through their vey souls, clearing their minds of the poisonous cloud. Princess Serenity projected the feeling of their planet into all of their minds, and the Maus were ashamed. "But we can bring your planet back to life! Give me your energy and love that you feel for this planet so we can heal her!"

A spark of hope lit in the hearts of the Maus and they all prayed together. One by one, Princess Serenity gathered all the prayers and apologies the Maus had for their once beloved planet. She raised her arms way above her head with the Maboroshi Crystal floating above her palms, glowing brighter and brighter until the light encompassed the entire planet.

Everyone was blinded by a warm soothing light that pierced them all down to their souls. When the light eventually faded, the planet had completely changed. Where there was once thriving cities, were now green moss covered buildings and massive trees that were as high as the skyscrapers. The planet Mau had been healed, but at the expense of all of their technology.

After a day of rest, Eternal Sailor Moon and her senshi were ready to leave the planet Mau. They stood on the same dock that they had landed on. The senshi of the planet and the royal family surrounded them in gratitude.

"We can never repay what you have done yet again for us, Sailor Moon," said the queen, tears of joy in her eyes (still).

"I don't know how you knew about our plight, but thank you. Thank you from all of us," replied the king, voice thick with emotion. "You are all welcome back to our planet at anytime you like, let it be known that the Altair System will every be the friend of the Sol-ar System."

Sailor Moon and her senshi smiled kindly at the grateful people of Mau. "Please, you are more than welcome. But know that it wasn't just us, you all helped save your planet. I know that it will be difficult acclimating to a wilder land, but I know the resourcefulness of your people."

"Saving our planet was worth the loss of our technology. We will rebuild with respect to the nature around us," declared the queen proudly, clinging to her son's hand.

As they made their way into their circular formation, the young royal prince piped up, "Please send my regards to Aunt Luna and Uncle Artemis, we've all missed them terribly."

"I will your highness," Sailor Moon told the young prince, smiling.

"Please, Sailor Moon," Sailor Tin Nyanko stepped up in front of the other senshi of Mau. "Let us be the ones to teleport you to Kinmoku. The Vega System is not far, and with all of our power together we could get you there by day's end with your own energy to spare. It is the least we can do."

What could they do but agree for the boost? Saving Mau had taken energy out of all of them and the senshi could sense that Sailor Moon was not back to full power.

"We would be honored if you could do us this favor, Sailor Tin Nyanko," Sailor Venus said sincerely.

And so, the senshi and Sailor Moon were teleported back into space on their way again to the Kinmoku.

~.~

Seiya sat on her balcony, strumming her guitar and singing quietly to herself. She was working on a new song. After coming back to Kinmoku, she found that writing music helped her cope with the loneliness. Her thoughts drifted back to that last moment on Earth.

"I won't forget you, " Seiya had said to her Odango.

"Yes! We'll be friends forever!" Usagi had cheerfully said back.

Seiya shook her head, smiling forlornly. Clearly Usagi had needed things to be spelled out to her. She was such a ditz and just way too innocent. Seiya stopped strumming and looked out of her balcony onto the sea, watching the calm waves lick the shore, one of Kinmoku's moons rising above the horizon.

In retrospect, Seiya realized that her timing had been all off with Usagi. She knew that Usagi was with Mamoru, and that she was going through a hard time what with Mamoru missing and Shadow Galactica killing off all of her friends. It took some time for Seiya to realize just how selfish she was acting around her Odango. _What kind of friend asks someone she loves to love her while her heart was breaking?_ Seiya berated herself. _I wonder if she forgave me for putting her in that position._

Over the months Seiya was able to come to terms with her emotions regarding Usagi. She loved her and missed her, but she also wasn't going to let the loneliness cripple her. She was just grateful, to know that she, the fabulous Seiya-sama was capable of that kind of love. Being able to love someone so much, that all you wanted for them was to be happy, even if it meant that they weren't with you was true love. Those were the emotions that she was holding onto, and she was proud of it; it made her a better person, a better leader and a better senshi.

_I wonder if you remember me, Odango. Do you miss me? Do you think about me? _Seiya sighed, even though she missed the Silver Moon Princess, she didn't let it get in the way of her duties. She needed a distraction and she knew that there was plenty of work to get done before the gala started in a few days. She got up and gently placed her guitar on its stand in her room, hiding her journal in which she kept all her lyrics, her sister was a snoop and loved to go through her things looking for blackmail._ Might as well make myself useful._

_~.~_

Unbeknownst to Seiya, Sailor Moon and her senshi at that exact moment landed in Kakyuu's private gardens. The Kinmokan princess had wanted to keep Sailor Moon and the senshi a secret until the actual launch of the gala. Sailor Moon thought that it would be a lot of fun to surprise the Starlights and the rest of Kinmoku.

Once they were in range Mercury sent a broadcast specifically to Sailor Star Starfall to give her their ETA. They all opened their eyes from the long trip they were greeted by Princess Kakyuu and Sailor Star Starfall.

Kakyuu smiled at the group demurely, but Sailor Moon had other plans. She ran into the slightly older girl's arms, "Kakyuu! It's so good to see you! I've missed you so much!" she burst into tears in Kakyuu's arms.

The senshi and Starfall smiled at Sailor Moon's sincerity and enthusiasm. In truth the Moon Princess held the Kinmokan princess in high regard.

Kakyuu stood shocked at the Moon Princess in her arms and was so touched that she too started crying.

Starfall watched the two crying princesses trying to greet over each other with amusement and bowed to the remaining senshi, "Welcome, princesses of the Sol-ar System, to Kinmoku."

* * *

So in case anyone was wondering, turns out that our solar system does not have a name. Crazy, right?! We're just known as the Solar System, so there you go. The other solar systems I used are also actually in our Galaxy, the Milky Way- for anyone who really wants to know, the Vega Solar System, is only about 25 lightyears away from the Milky Way. And they say it's the next most important sun our galaxy after our own. *this may or may not be important going forward in this story _0*

Please let me know what you think! And I know many of you can't wait for Seiya to finally see Usagi! Thanks for letting me string you along for a little _0! Maybe next chapter?! Until next weekend!

Ja'na!


	13. Chapter 13

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

Happy Humpday all! I know that a lot of you have been waiting oh-so-patiently for the party in Kinmoku! Well here it is!

Thanks again for all of my reviewers and followers! I'm especially excited about this chapter and hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing it!

::Bows the gratitude:: Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 13:

Tooru was suspicious. Not that he didn't trust his princess, but ever since a few days ago, Kakyuu had started acting very secretive. Up until last week, she was right in the midst of gala preparations, but these past few days, she had all but disappeared. She shut herself off in the royal wing of the palace, and the only time they saw her was when she was escorting around some of her ladies-in-waiting (which Tooru didn't even know she had?!) with Sailor Star Starfall; and when she did run into the other senshi and other people, they would all make a hasty escape. Something was up.

The other Starlights were too busy to notice, but as her partner, Tooru took great exception being ignored by the love of her life. Who were these new ladies-in-waiting? And just WHY was she hanging out so much with Kosoku, anyway?! Tooru grumbled for the first few days of the strange behavior, waiting to figure out what was going on. Needless to say, the Mou twins were the jealous types.

Kinmoku was as beautiful as the Starlights and Kakyuu had described to them, and Usagi and her senshi were grateful for the time to acclimate to the Kinmokan environment as Kakyuu's ladies-in-waiting. It was the perfect disguise for all of them! They were dressed in a subtler version of the royal robes of orange and cream instead of the bright red of the direct royal line. And they all managed to keep their identities secret because of the beaded veil that younger court maidens had the option to wear. Kakyuu laughed when she had helped them all dress saying that no one had ever really bothered to wear the beaded hats, but it served their purpose.

As a Princess of Kinmoku, Kakyuu had the power to appoint herself ladies-in-waiting in order to keep her company and be her friends. She hadn't exercised this power previously because she had her friends and companions from her own senshi in her galaxy. She had been so excited about their arrival that Kakyuu forgot that she hadn't explained anything to Tooru when she confronted her princess in the hallways with her new entourage.

"Kako-hime," a voice called out in front of her. Kakyuu looked up with a slight panic starting in her heart. _Oh no! What's Tooru doing here?! _she thought to herself.

Kosoku stepped up in front of the ladies-in-waiting as they all lowered their heads in order to avoid Tooru's glance.

"Tooru," Kakyuu tried to greet her partner calmly.

"The gala will begin soon and we've missed you around these past few days. Just what are you up to?" Tooru asked curiously, glancing up at the five ladies hiding behind Kosoku, their veils obstructing the views to their faces. "And who are these ladies, I do not believe that I've seen them in court before."

Tooru knew her long time friend and lover better than she knew her twin, and she knew that Kakyuu was about to lie when her eyes darted to the side before answering Tooru.

"They're some distant relatives Tooru-chan," Kakyuu desperately tried to lie to Tooru. She knew that Tooru could read her like a book, hoping that just the one time Tooru wouldn't catch her in the act. "They, um, came to the capital to celebrate the gala here!"

Tooru was about to chastise her princess about lying to her when they both heard a gasp from Usagi, who at that moment took a peek at Tooru. Kakyuu had told all of the girls about how she was reunited with her love that had been killed by Shadow Galactica, but Kakyuu never told Usagi that Tooru was Seiya's twin.

Usagi's hands came up to her lips, unable to contain her gasp; Tooru just looked so much like Seiya. Even their voices were similar, which is what tempted her to look up in the first place.

Tooru glanced over to the lady-in-waiting that had gasped, suspicion rising in her gut. "My lady? Are you well?" she simply asked. She couldn't understand the look of recognition Usagi had in her eyes.

Kakyuu mentally berated herself for forgetting to tell Usagi that Tooru was Seiya's twin. "Usa-chan!" She turned her back to Tooru and ran to Usagi, grasping her hand in concern.

Tooru took a step closer. She sensed warmth and power radiating from this lady-in-waiting. Someone this powerful was from Kinmoku?

"Oh my god," he heard another lady-in-waiting gasp, "She looks so much like Fighter!" Minako slapped her fingers to her mouth after she blurted out the words.

Tooru blinked. _Wait, what? How did they know Fighter?_

"Really Minako?!" Rei shot back, "You're gonna blow our cover!"

"Not anymore than you are by saying we're under cover," Makoto snapped back.

Ami spoke up, "Guys, now is not the time to be arguing!"

Minako turned to point out Tooru to Usagi as if she wasn't just standing a few feet away, "But doesn't she look like her?!" Minako insisted.

Usagi blushed a bright red, grabbing Minako's pointed hand, embarrassed at her friend's rudeness.

Rei and Makoto facepalmed, while Ami looked up into Tooru's face simply stating, "Well, they must be twins then," straight-faced.

Kosoku couldn't help but choke back a laugh. Tooru looked more confused than ever, and Kakyuu looked at the group and slowly started to giggle. The girls all paused arguing and started to laugh along with her. They all laughed together with Tooru still standing in the hallway feeling left out of the joke. The one redeeming aspect of the moment was seeing her lover laughing in such a carefree manner. She almost never saw her princess act with such lightheartedness; she smiled seeing the joy and laugher spill from Kakyuu.

Princess Kakyuu was bent over gasping for breath, "I guess the cat is kind of out of the bag now, huh?" she laughed.

"Well, yes and no, Kako-hime," said Tooru, bemused. "I still have no idea what's going on."

Kosoku interrupted before anyone got another word out, "Your highness, it might be beneficial if we all got out of the hallway for this conversation."

~.~

Tooru left Kakyuu's private sitting room, with her head spinning. She never would have thought that Kakyuu would be sneaky enough to pull off a surprise like having the galaxy's savior come to their celebration of their planet. She felt a profound sense of love and caring on the part of Sailor Moon and her friends, to take the time and effort to travel all the way to Kinmoku. Not to mention stopping by the Planet Mau, to you know, just help SAVE their planet (again).

Kakyuu had explained it all to Tooru: the invitation to Earth, why Kosoku was involved and the surprise that Kakyuu had for the entire planet; and more specifically to the Starlights.

She shook her head to clear it. Usagi had taken a moment to speak with Tooru alone to ask about her sister.

"Ano," Usagi asked, with a shy smile. "How is Seiya? You know, she became one of my best friends during her time on Earth."

Tooru didn't know how to reply, she wasn't sure how close her twin had gotten to the Moon Princess. Tooru had felt conflicted confronting her twin about her time on Earth. After all, it was a sensitive subject because Tooru was killed not too long before the mission. She felt given with enough time, Seiya would fill her in. "She seems well enough, but Taiki and Yaten say that she left part of her heart on Earth." Tooru still didn't know to whom the other Starlights had been referring to.

Usagi bent her head, her cheeks blushing lightly. "Oh. Is that so?" she replied nonchalantly. Too nonchalantly.

Tooru looked up seeing the blush on Usagi's cheeks. Things clicked. Of course her twin would also fall in love with Princess Serenity. The Mou twins, it seems, are infamous for falling in love with powerful princesses. She recalled Seiya's words about finding the brightest star. _When you fall, you fall hard, eh, Seiya? Heh, just like your big sister._ So of course, Tooru couldn't help but tease Usagi, "Do YOU know who she might have fallen in love with on Earth, princess?"

Usagi turned bright red. Teasing she expected from Seiya; it coming from her twin totally took her by surprise. "Um… um… Fallen in love with? I'm not really sure…" her eyes were wide, the warmth of her clear blue gaze glazing over with unsure hope.

"It must have been someone that she really cared about," Tooru continued to tease subtly. "Maybe it was someone she spent most of her time with?! I know my twin well, and she's the type of person to tease the person that loves the most."

Usagi's face blanked with shock, _But it's been like that ever since the beginning. _Usagi thought to herself. _It had been since the beginning?! _

Tooru could tell that she was recalling all the instances when Seiya probably frustrated the heck out of her until she was blue in the face, ready to strangle the Starlight.

Tooru chuckled to herself, letting Usagi's mind wander off. She pat her on the head and turned to leave the room. _I can't wait for Seiya to see her surprise, _she thought to herself. Her reaction is going to be PRICELESS.

~.~

Princess Kakyuu walked through the doors from behind the thrones; head high, a smile beaming on her face, with Sailor Star Protector on her arm. She stopped just in front of the thrones looking out onto the throne room filled with senshi, the court and citizens of their country. All across their planet, a hologram of the gala kick off was being broadcast.

"Citizens! Friends! Loved ones! People of Kinmoku. I will not spare words for the grief, heartache and loss we have gone through. Today is a day of celebration," Kakyuu paused, looking her people in the eyes, making sure that everyone across the planet could feel her salutation. "I do not need to recall the story of how we got here. Every man, woman and child knows the tragedy that befell our beloved planet. I am sorry that I could not protect you all before with my own meager power. But our own senshi were able to prevail. Red-Orange Planet of Olive Blossoms, our own Sailor Star Fighter, Sailor Star Maker and Sailor Star Healer were able to assist Eternal Sailor Moon of the Crystal Moon Kingdom to defeat Shadow Galactica." The princess paused as the entire planet went wild with cheers, whistles and screams for their saviors.

The three Starlights, Fighter, Maker, and Healer were standing in a place of honor beside the throne dais. The stood erect in their senshi fuku standing solemn amongst the cheers in solidarity in respect for all other senshi attacked by Shadow Galactica.

"And by the grace of Eternal Sailor Moon, who not only had the heart and hope to save Galactica, the most powerful sailor senshi of the Milky Way Galaxy, but she also granted us, a second chance at life!" Princess Kakyuu spoke these words, turning to Sailor Star Protector with a smile on her lips and tears in her eyes. She leaned over to kiss her lover in a long deep kiss, stirring the passion in her people, as they cheered for their beloved princess.

"My people; let us rejoice. Let us celebrate this second chance to make things right. To live our lives without regret or sorrow. Let us never forget the sacrifices that were made in order to revive our planet. Let us never forget the people who fought for our right to exist! Kinmoku! I am humbled and am grateful. I cannot start this celebration on my own."

With these words, Sailor Star Protector released her hold on Kakyuu's waist stepping back of the dais next to her fellow senshi. Behind the throne, the same doors Kakyuu had entered through opened slowly as Kakyuu continued her speech.

"It is my highest honor, my people, Kinmoku."

A blonde figure in white stepped into the throne room approaching where Kakyuu was standing. Behind her, four senshi in unfamiliar fukus to the Kinmokan people walked side by side after the figure in white.

"To kick off this gala celebration, with not only our savior,"

Princess Kakyuu had turned slightly, reaching out to the figure in white, clasping her hand in hers, bringing the ethereal beauty standing next to her. The senshi in the unfamiliar fukus stopped just behind them. The people of Kinmoku were awashed with calm, as if a gentle breeze had blown through their souls as they gazed upon the woman in white, her crescent moon symbol shining in the sunlight.

Seiya had turned her head is disbelief. _No, it couldn't be._

"But also the savior of our lives, our planets and our galaxy! I present to you, the sailor senshi from the Sol-ar System and Princess Serenity of the Crystal Moon Kingdom, also known as Sailor Moon!" with her final words ringing throughout the planet, the two princesses raised their joined hands as the planet erupted into cheers, fireworks, and tears of gratitude. "Now let's get this party started!"

Princess Serenity and her senshi raised their hands to greet the people of Kinmoku and to also bless the beginning of the celebration. All of their emotions were unprepared for the reception they received from the ever-grateful people. Tears in their eyes, they smiled and waved.

Now Fighter, Maker and Healer stood dumbstruck at the appearance of Sailor Moon and her senshi in Kinmoku. Kakyuu looked over at them slyly, laughing at their faces.

Princess Serenity turned her face to glance towards the Starlight senshi. Her eyes locked with Sailor Star Fighter, who at that particular moment thought she must have been dreaming. Both of their gazes held, softening as the world disappeared around them; and as Princess Serenity smiled, Sailor Star Fighter's heart sprang with hope and joy.

Fighter's sister, Protector looked on as two of the galaxy's saviors stared into each other's eyes. She smirked. This celebration was going to be one hell of a party!

* * *

There you have it! Let me know what you think!

Ja'na!


	14. Chapter 14

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

Hello everyone! I want to thank everyone for their continued support and reviews!(princessnerak and nakia)! and special thanks to Sailorearth19, Bin82501 and LoveInTheBattleField for also reviewing my one-shot Her destiny, Her sacrifice!

A big apology to GraphicsChyk for this chapter- I swear, it was written before you reviewed! Please forgive me!

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 14:

The party had commenced and the planet had gone wild at Princess Kakyuu's surprise guests for the celebration. Everyone celebrating in the palace had migrated to the biggest ballroom the palace had. Music wafted through the room, as people milled around talking, greeting and congratulating each other.

Princess Serenity and her senshi walked with the flow of the room, greeting people and graciously accepting thanks from the many people who came up to them.

Kakyuu came up to Serenity giving a big warm hug. "Thank you so much for doing this! The kick-off to the celebration was a success!"

Serenity's laugh sounded like twinkling stars, "It was all my pleasure, Kako-chan! We should be the ones thanking you! We needed this vacation!"

"Well now that I have you for a whole month, I can't wait to take you around our country!" exclaimed Kakyuu.

Venus chipped in, "And lots and lots of shopping!"

"Oh, and I'd love to see your royal library, if that isn't a bother," chimed in Mercury.

"I'd settle just for some handsome sight-seeing," Jupiter said dreamily, staring at Kosoku.

Mars laughed and said, "I'm with Jupiter on this one!"

The princesses and senshi laughed, Serenity play pouted at Kakyuu, "Your beautiful planet is going to steal my senshi from me Kako-chan! What's a princess to do?!"

A mischievous shine sparkled in Kakyuu's eyes, "I'm sure we could find a distraction for you too, Sere-chan," as she turned towards where Star Fighter and the other Starlights were standing.

Serenity's face blushed, "Kako-chan, you meanie," she stuck her tongue out to the princess.

Usagi had spent plenty of time alone with the Kinmokan princess for the three days they were waiting for the gala to start. Usagi found that she had a lot in common with the Kinmokan Princess; and in her, she was able to make a friend, who could understand the pressures of what Usagi called 'royal responsibility'.

Usagi had told Kakyuu about everything in her life, from her pre-determined destiny with Mamoru, and the changed that had happened after Chaos, and about her fears of never finding Chibiusa, whom she still thought of as her own daughter. It was during that conversation that Kakyuu understood why Usagi had pushed Seiya away while the Starlights were on Earth. It hadn't mattered if Usagi had wanted to be with Seiya or not, her future had been written. Deep in her soul Kakyuu was glad and relieved. If the Moon Princess's fate could change, then maybe her could too.

For Kakyuu, Usagi was a breath for fresh air. She had always been the responsible daughter and princess. She always did what was expected of her without second thought or judgment, putting her people and her 'destiny' first. With Usagi, she felt like she could be just a girl, finding her own happiness within her responsibilities. She finally had a true friend that was her equal. Together, they laughed, told jokes and teased each other. Their friendship was one that would last through eternity.

But now, at the celebration, Kakyuu stuck her tongue out at Serenity and gently pushed her towards the Starlights direction.

Serenity and her senshi made their way to where the Starlight Senshi stood, also greeting people who came up to them.

Seiya saw them approached and was nervous about this reunion with Usagi. She could sense that her odango had changed, and couldn't figure out what to make of it. She didn't have long to be nervous.

Princess Serenity ran the last few steps between her and Sailor Star Fighter and flew into her shocked, but delighted arms. "Fighter!" she exclaimed, "I've missed you so much!"

Seiya's initial reaction was to panic and let go of the Moon Princess, but her instincts took over and she hugged Usagi even tighter, whispering into her hair, "Odango, it's so good to see you."

~.~

On Earth, a different sort of celebration was being held. Mamoru was on break from college, and decided to give himself a vacation by visiting New York City. Something drew him to the city that never sleeps. He wandered the busy subways and streets filled with tourists, angry New Yorkers and cabs; and he found himself on top of the Empire State Building, for some reason he felt like he needed to be there.

From atop the building, he looked out into the light filled city, the wind whipping around him on the empty observation deck. From all the way up there he couldn't hear the sounds of traffic or people anymore. He felt so alone.

He knew it was his decision to stray from destiny, to stray from Usagi, but when he was being totally honest with himself, he didn't love her as much as his past life did; and that wasn't fair to either of them.

But now, at times like this, when he felt alone in the world, he missed her and the family he had through her.

He remembered her visit to his apartment and him, sitting on his bed apologizing to her. He thought that would have to stay together for the sake of Chibiusa, but Usagi's news about Chibisua shocked him out of all proportions.

.

::Flashback to that night::

"Ne, Mamo-chan," Usagi said softly, morphing out of her Princess Serenity gown, "What's wrong?"

Mamoru couldn't look her in the eyes, knowing that it was his fault that she was crying again. He was always making her cry. "I… I… I don't know, Usa-ko."

She sat down beside him on his bed, bringing her knees up to her chest, locking her arms around her legs. "I can feel your heart breaking," she simply said, tears running down her beautiful face. Even in grief, she was beautiful.

And that's when Mamoru's grief took over. He flung his hands to his head and sobbed uncontrollably. "I'm so sorry, I'm the worst. I'm so sorry," he kept crying out. "It's my fault, I'm not good enough, I'm not strong enough, but I know we can't lose _her_."

Tears kept trailing down as Usagi chewed on her lip. _So that was it. That's why he's been tearing himself up over us. Because of Chibiusa, _Usagi thought to herself. She didn't want to give up a future with Mamoru, but if Chibiusa was the only reason he would want to stay with her in the future, it wouldn't be fair to hold out on the information she had about their 'future daughter'.

"She's not my daughter," Usagi said, waiting to see Mamoru's reaction.

He stilled at her words, she could feel his anger building alongside with his grief. "What are you talking about," he demanded trying to keep his temper in check. "The past is the past, it can't be changed. She went to the past and told us we were her parents."

Usagi tilted her head, and calmly said, "Her starseed has been born already Mamo-chan." She paused, "That means that I'm not her mother; I am not carrying any children at the moment. The future hasn't happened yet, so I don't know where things turn out for her to say those things, but I can tell you right now, with 100% surety, I am not Chibiusa's biological mother, and unless you have another senshi impregnated that you haven't told me about, you are not her biological father."

Mamoru couldn't move and couldn't speak. His mouth worked, but nothing came out.

"Chibiusa needs to exist. That can't be changed, but with the starseeds being given a second chance, she might have been conceived by her true parents, not by us," Usagi turned to Mamoru, her blue eyes staring deep into his, unreadable. "I don't know what will happen that will bring her back into our lives or compel her to call us her parents," she stopped. Trying to find the strength within her to do what she needed to, she forced herself to keep talking, "But she doesn't need us to be together, ever; for her to exist. That much I know."

::End Flashback::

.

Mamoru had almost been cruel to Usagi in his relief. He knew she still thought she was in love with him, but with that conversation, the shackles that held them together were broken and would never return.

The future as they had thought it would become would never be. Not with them as King and Queen, at least for now, but who knows, things can change, as fate had shown them all.

The chaos of the city night raged on below him as Mamoru returned from his reverie. He felt that he was no longer alone.

"My prince," he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

Mamoru turned around and on their knees were the Shitennou (the Four Heavenly Kings); Endymion's protectors: Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite and Kunzite.

"How…" he began to ask them. "What…"

They rose, smirks on their faces. "Like all the other starseeds in the galaxy, we've been given a second chance," said Jadeite. "You will never be alone again, our Prince. We are all so sorry for our traitorous acts. Chaos had tainted our minds through Metalia. Will you forgive us, Prince Endymion?"

The Earth Prince's protectors stood in stylish civilian clothing, but they stood with their backs straight, and fire in their eyes. For them, it was good to be alive and to have the chance to make things right again.

"My friends. You honor me with your allegiance," Mamoru started to choke out with emotion. His entire life, he had always believed that he was alone, that he had no family. But now, he did, his brothers, his own senshi.

The Shitennou, with tears in their eyes and purpose back in their hearts surrounded Mamoru. Mamoru reached out to grip Jadeite's shoulder, and at that moment they had all transformed; Mamoru in his prince's robes, and the Shitennou into their knight armor.

"Our future king," they all got down onto one knee, hands over their hearts.

Nephrite chimed in, "Our leader, our brother. We will follow you and protect the Earth Kingdom."

"It is good to have you back with me," Prince Endymion said warmly. "Brothers, please come with me, I think we need to catch up on everything."

As the men made their way to leave the observation deck, Mamoru looked up into the night sky, stars barely visible over the city's lights, "Thank you Usa-ko," he whispered, "for bringing my family back to me."

Though he didn't hear a response, she could feel a ghostly kiss upon his brow, as if saying, "You're welcome."

* * *

I know everyone is waiting to read more about Seiya and Usagi, and I promise I'm working on it, but the two just aren't cooperating with me. -_-;

Thanks for reading! ::bows in gratitude::

please review!

ja'na


	15. Chapter 15

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

Hello! Sorry for a late update this weekend- I've been busy and had a bit of writer's block.

I want to thank all my reviewers, new followers and 'favoriters' and pm'ers! Thank you thank you thank you!

Without further ado- enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 15:

In a hidden corner at the edge the So-lar System, in a peaceful kingdom, a king's anguished howls pierced the night. Try as he might, the king couldn't figure out what was wrong with his daughter.

Weeks ago, the newly born baby princess was seized out of his arms by a strong purple power that came from out of nowhere. This power extracted a light from the baby princess and left her trapped in a tomb like crystal encasing. The desolate king had tried everything he could think of; he called the most prestigious doctors and healers, and nothing was working. No one knew what was wrong with the princess. Her body was alive, her heart was beating, and she was breathing, but it was as if her soul had been drained from her.

The king was desperate. It was time to go visit his distant cousin to see if she could help him heal his daughter. He turned to the open balcony adjacent from the throne room, walking out into the cold night.

The king looked out onto his kingdom. The dwarf planet was small and far from the sun, but his people were happy with their simple lives, accustomed to the cold that came with being so far from their sun.

As he gathered his power to teleport a young man ran out onto the balcony, calling out to him.

"Your Majesty! Where are you going?!"

Bright energy exploded from the king, rocketing him skyward.

"I'm going for help, I'll be back soon, keep everyone safe, Sapphire," the king yelled out to his brother.

The young prince watched his brother shoot out into the sky. "Be careful, Diamond," he whispered into the night.

~.~

Seiya couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe the weight in her arms, the smell of her hair in her face. She inhaled the sweet sugar scent mingled with the scent of olive blossoms. She must have been here for a few days already for the planet's scent to make its mark on her already. Seiya couldn't believe that Usagi, no Princess Serenity, had her arms wrapped around her, tight. It wasn't a grip of desperation or that of over exertion; it felt like a homecoming.

"Odango," Seiya breathed into her hair. She released the Moon Princess from her grip. Usagi was loath to leave the warmth of Seiya's embrace, but they were all still in the middle of a party.

Usagi's senshi came up to the Starlight's greeting them. Rei bowed slightly to the group. Makoto blushed as she nodded to Kosoku.

Ami, composed, greeted Taiki directly, surprising everyone, "Hello Maker. It's good to see you again."

Minako squealed and jumped up to tackle Yaten to the ground. For a moment they all enjoyed the same feeling of resignation at Minako's obsession with Yaten.

Yaten grumbled trying to hide a smirk, but Seiya and Taiki could tell that she enjoyed Minako being all over her again.

Usagi smiled and pulled back from Seiya's hug. "I've missed you all," she said looking to the three Starlights. Before they could reply she looked around, "I didn't know that there were so many senshi here in the Vega system."

The Starlights smiled, and Taiki spoke up, ever the intellect. "Our system is actually quite young compared to that of the Sol-ar System, Princess Serenity." She went on to explain that the Starlights were representatives of the three moons that orbited Kinmoku. But the Vega system itself has 6 planets and several asteroids. "Planetary formations are still being created, so every half century or so, we initiate a new senshi; the amount of senshi you also see are representatives of the larger asteroids in our system."

Seiya chuckled at how Taiki went into 'teacher mode' so quickly. Yaten just rolled her eyes.

Yaten interrupted proudly, "But us four are the only Starlights. The rest of the senshi have larger planets or asteroids."

Usagi and her senshi were mesmerized by the impromptu lesson; Seiya laughed and reached out to grab Usagi's hand. "But we're not here now to talk planets, come on Odango, let's dance!" Usagi's eyes lit up and ran with the Starlight onto the dance floor.

Minako dragged Yaten to the floor and joined Seiya and Usagi, learning how to dance a Kinmokan waltz.

The music started to slow down and Seiya found herself waltzing with Usagi. Neither of them really liked to waltz, but it seemed that they were perfectly synchronized. Seiya took the lead and Usagi let herself relax into her friend's arms enjoying the dance, without having to worry about tripping over herself.

"Your planet is absolutely beautiful Seiya," Usagi whispered as they waltzed.

Seiya let out a boast, "Of course it is, Odango. It is the home of the magnificent watashi-sama!"

"Mou- you're still a cocky singer, aren't you?"

"You didn't really expect that to change, no did you?!" came the retort.

Usagi laughed, the twinkling sound bringing a soft glow into Seiya's heart. "No, no, I guess not."

Seiya looked down at the girl she was dancing with, she noticed Usagi's long lashes kissing her cheeks as she blinked and the brilliance of her bright blue eyes. Seiya felt like she could look at her forever, watching the light reflect off her bright blonde hair. And over the sound of the music she heard grumbling. Seiya burst out into laughter at the princess in her arms who turned bright red.

Seiya broke their position and turned to tug Usagi towards the buffet. "Come on odango, I didn't realize how long we've been dancing, and now I'm starving! Let's go eat!"

~.~

The night flew by. Seiya introduced Kinmokan cuisine to Usagi. They both stuffed themselves with delicacies from around the planet. It was good to have time alone together, but not being truly alone, to get reacquainted. Memories flooded both of them, and it was overwhelming. But what was clear to everyone in the room, they both had chemistry.

Yaten and Mina found themselves at a karaoke room with Rei, Makoto and Kosoku. They were having a great time getting to know other senshi and singing with each other.

Ami and Taiki were in a deep discussion out on the balcony enjoying the stars and sparking cider made from a local peach-like fruit.

Kakyuu observed the party with joy in her heart. "It's so good to see them all so happy again," she whispered to Tooru.

Tooru watched her sister interact with the Moon Princess through open doors outside of the ballroom, teasing her until she turned red, but also with chemistry that made the very air around them ignite with light. She smiled to herself, "I never knew she could be this happy," she said a little sadly.

Kakyuu looked over to her lover, a small frown on her face. "Why do you sound so sad then?"

Tooru wrapped her arms around her princess, needing her closeness, "Well, they're not staying here, are they?" she said simply.

Kakyuu's bottom lip jutted out into a frown, a habit that she picked up from Usagi, "No, they're not."

"What will happen to them when they leave?"

"They're not gone yet, Tooru," Kakyuu said, she wanted to distract Tooru from her gloomy thoughts. She purred seductively, "Let's just all enjoy this, okay? We'll figure it out."

Tooru turned her princess around in her arms, pushed her worries into the back of her mind. She leaned in to kiss her beloved, "Your wish is my command," she growled back from the back of her throat claiming the princess's soft lips with her own.

Kakyuu's arms snaked around Tooru's neck pressing her body up to her lover as Tooru wrapped her arms around Kakyuu's waist. The rest of the world disappeared with their kisses.

From outside the ballroom at a dinner table designated for the senshi, Seiya nudged Usagi who turned up to look at the dark haired beauty.

Seiya was chuckling and nodded her head to a corner of the ballroom through the open French doors, "Would-ja lookit that."

Usagi grinned and sighed romantically. Seeing people so in love with each other made her heart soar. It was such a beautiful thing to witness. "They're so in love!" she gushed.

Seiya turned to Usagi who was sitting with her hands to her chin dreamily looking at the Kinmokan princess and her Starlight lover. Her heart almost stopped at the sight of the lovely smile on Usagi's beautiful face. _She is so incredibly beautiful, _Seiya thought.

Seiya quietly observed Usagi. It seemed to her that Usagi had changed drastically since she had last seen her. She was still all bubbly and enthusiastic, but she also seemed more put together, calm. Seiya couldn't quite put her finger on it. As Fighter, she could feel Princess Serenity's power flowing calmly beneath the surface of her bright blue eyes. _She's powered up since Galactica. _She thought. _Or maybe it was because of Galactica. Usagi seems to be in more control of herself, and less unsure. She's truly Princess Serenity now. _

Seiya suddenly remembered Mamoru. She was about to ask about him, but turned the thought of Usagi's boyfriend away from her mind. She didn't want to have to remind Usagi about her boyfriend while they were together.

Usagi sighed again, with a little jealousy from watching Kakyuu and Tooru. She missed being loved like that. The passion that the Kinmokan princess and her Starlight displayed was more than Mamoru had every showed her, even in private. Slowly she was beginning to realize that her and Mamoru had never really fallen in love, in the conventional way. They had just picked up where Serenity and Endymion had left off. That was no way to truly maintain a relationship. After the initial spark of remembering their past lives, they had nothing in this life to keep them together. _I want to fall in love like THAT,_ she thought to herself seeing Kakyuu's eyes shining brighter than any sun as she looked at Tooru.

She smiled to herself, truly happy for her friend. She knew how devastated Kakyuu was after losing Tooru during Galactica. _I want to protect their happiness. And maybe find my own happiness just like that._

She turned abruptly to Seiya and froze. The emotion in Seiya's eyes was a pure unadulterated look of love. Even as clueless and naïve as Usagi could be, there was no mistaking THAT look in someone's eyes. It was the same look that Kakyuu and Tooru had shared. She blushed and looked down into lap, her hands clasped tight. _I…I wonder if that's how Seiya really feels about me,_ she thought. Well, she took in a deep breath, there's only one way to find out.

"Ano… Seiya?" she asked timidly.

Seiya tried to shake the stars out of her eyes from gawking at Usagi, "Yes, Odango?"

"Do you.. I mean… what…what do you think about me?" the softly asked question was so innocent and so straightforward that Seiya was caught totally off guard.

Seiya sat there, dumbstruck. How was she even supposed to answer that kind of question?! How does someone even begin to profess their love to the most beautiful, loving and amazing creature in the entire galaxy?! Her face turned bright pink watching Usagi tilt her head to the side, bringing her knees to her chest onto the chair. _She's so freaking adorable!_ Seiya squealed in her head. She bit her lip trying to refrain herself from leaning forward to kiss the soft pouting lips.

"Well.. I…" Seiya started to try to answer Usagi's question, stuttering; and then all of a sudden she was interrupted by a streak of light flew into the sky exploding into a thunderous stream of colorful lights.

Both Seiya and Usagi squeaked turning their heads to the firework show that had just begun, momentarily forgetting the conversation, their hearts still racing. All of the inner senshi, the Starlights and Kakyuu came to where they were sitting for a full view of the fireworks, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the display of lights.

The fireworks completely distracted Usagi from her question; until she felt a soft, warm hand slip into her own. She looked down, seeing Seiya's hand holding gently onto hers. She looked over to Seiya who's eyes were glued to the sky, Seiya looked over for a moment and winked with a grin on her face. Usagi's face blushed a deep red.

As they held hands looking into the night sky, neither of them could tell if the racing pulse that they could feel in their fingertips was their own or the other's, not realizing that it was both.

* * *

There you have it!

Thanks for reading! I'm hoping to get another post up sometime mid next week, but we'll see- a lot is going on right now, but I'm totally inspired!

love to get feedback so please review and let me know what you think!

::Bows in gratitude:: ja'na!


	16. Chapter 16

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

Thanks for all the reviews and follows! This chapter is more introspective, but I'll hopefully get to the action soon!

Big thank you to Kokoro de Haato for pointing out my mixed pronouns in chapter 15! (gender-bending can be so confusing sometimes -_-;)

Sorry for the late update- I've been busy- Hopefully, I'll be able to update more often now that my externship is done! ^_^

* * *

Chapter 16:

Yaten woke up the next day smirking, which really would have been a smile, but Yaten never smiled; she smirked. Which she was annoyed at herself at, because she never woke up smirking, or smiling for that matter. But, there she was, humming to herself as she was getting ready for the day. She couldn't help but be (secretly) happy after the previous night's events. Minako seemed to still have a crush on her, and who wouldn't want the beautiful goddess of love hanging of their arm?! Not that she would ever admit that to Minako, but it was the truth.

Yaten was drawn to the Minako. She was cheerful and wore her heart on her sleeve. She was beautiful and energetic, and so many more things that Yaten wasn't. She looked up to Minako and was secretly in awe of how such a lovely person would think she was special.

_Don't get over your head Yaten,_ she thought to herself. _You don't want to end up like Seiya. OMG Seiya, if she ever finds out about my crush on Minako, I will NEVER hear the end of it…_

Yaten knew that she couldn't get too attached to the beautiful senshi, besides, they would be leaving backing for their planet again soon, but for while she was there, she would enjoy her company. Subtly. She wouldn't actually seek Minako out, but if Minako happened to cling to her for their entire trip on Kinmoku, well, there was really nothing she could do about that, now could she?

Yaten pursed her lips looking at her closet, trying to come up with a cute outfit that didn't look like she was trying too hard. She especially wanted Minako to keep hanging on her arm like she was all night. Not that she would ever let her know that ever, but Yaten was just complicated like that.

~.~

Minako on the other hand, woke up bounding out of her bed in her guest room. She threw open her doors and ran squealing into Usagi's bedroom jumping onto her king sized bed.

"Usssssaaaaagiiiiiii!" she sang. "Get up! Get up! Get up!" she bounced so enthusiastically, the entire bed frame shook.

Usagi groaned under Minako's weight, "Mi-chan, why are you this excited so early?!" she moaned turning to snuggle deeper into the blankets.

Minako couldn't help herself, she was happy, therefore the whole galaxy needed to be happy with her. She dove under the sheets to Usagi's dismay snuggling up next to her best friend.

Usagi could feel the hyperactive energy radiating from Minako. She peeked one sleepy eye open at her blonde friend and couldn't help but smile.

Minako's vivid blue eyes were dancing with unconcealed joy. "I had a really great time last night, Usa-chan," she whispered, covering her gleeful smile with her hands. "It was such an ahhh-mazing night!" she exclaimed rolling onto her back.

"Was it the singing, the sexy senshi, or Yaten?" asked Usagi teasingly.

"Why can't it be all of the above?!" Minako teased back.

Usagi just raised an eyebrow at her friend, not fooled for a second.

Minako laughed, "Oh okay, fine," she sighed and then exploded, "Of course it was because of Yaten! She's the coolest!"

Usagi and Minako both stared up onto the ceiling watching sunrays play on the walls of the room. The royal family had let the Moon Princess and her senshi stay in the rooms Kakyuu had originally granted them in the 'Royal wing' of the palace just outside the Senshi wing. It was the safest place in the entire palace. The rooms were spacious and airy, the scent of olive blossoms floating through the air.

"She's amazing, Usa-chan," Minako continued. "She's so stubborn and she holds herself back so much, but she feels everything around her," her voice was soft as she remembered that previous evening. Minako turned to Usagi, raising herself up on an elbow, "You know, she tries to be so tough, but she was the first one to start crying during Princess Kakyuu's speech. Kosoku told me so, gahhh! She's so cute!"

Usagi smiled at her friend, "You really like her, don't you, Mi-chan?"

"Yeah. I really do. She feels almost as much as you do, Usa-chan. I think that's why I like her so much."

Usagi couldn't help but tease, "Oh, I see now, she's just a replacement for me, huh?"

Minako pouted playfully, "She could never replace you princess! How could you say that?! She's not nearly as clumsy as you are! Not to mention she's way more girly..."

"Hey! I reset that!" Usagi pouted back.

The two friends laughed at their silliness.

Usagi had to ask, "Does it bother you that she's a girl on this planet?"

"Does it bother you that Seiya's a girl on this planet?"

"Well… no, but,"

"Well it doesn't bother me either," Minako interrupted, "Yaten is Yaten. She's always been who she is," Minako giggled, "Actually, it makes more sense for her to be a girl anyway. Even when she was a guy she still acted all girly."

Usagi and Minako both laughed again.

Minako looked thoughtful, "You know, I had never really thought about it, them being girls, I mean, to me, they were always the Three Lights, you know?"

"I always thought of them more as the Starlights," said Usagi. "Especially after we found out who they were, I couldn't really separate the two in my mind after that."

"Love is love," Minako whispered. She looked at Usagi with a newfound conviction her in deep blue eyes, "It doesn't matter what she is, or how she wants to define herself. I like Yaten. She can be a girl, or a guy or whatever, her gender doesn't matter to me because she will always be amazing."

"She's a brat," Usagi pointed out.

"But an amazing brat," Minako laughed.

Usagi knew that Minako must have thought about this long and hard before coming to this kind of conclusion. She wasn't surprised though, she knew that Minako, true to her representation of the goddess of Love, Venus; would embody the definition of love wholeheartedly. She really looked up to Minako's sense of passion. Usagi reached out to her best friend's hand, "Thank you Mi-chan."

"For what?"

"For teaching me so much about what it means to love."

Minako smiled shyly, she was actually very relieved to hear Usagi's reaction to her little speech. She knew that Usagi loved her unconditionally, but she was glad to get Usagi's support on her stance of the matter. These were modern times, but the subject of romantic preferences would always be an awkward subject.

"I guess those Beatles really knew what they were talking about, huh?" teased Minako.

Usagi laughed and sang, "All you need is love."

Minako nodded and looked back at Usagi with a glint in her eyes, "So what is going on with you an Seiya, anyway? You guys were attached at the hip last night," she teased.

Usagi blushed, all of a sudden feeling very shy. Minako took note and squealed, "So there is something going on, isn't there?! Come on! You have the full attention of Venus, Goddess of Love!"

"I…"

"Well?!"

"I mean,"

"Don't be shy!"

Usagi laughed, "Mi-chan! Let me get a word in!"

Minako laughed, "Okay okay, I'm sorry! Go on."

Usagi took a moment closing her eyes to try to think out how she felt. She was confused and excited all at the same time. "I…I enjoy Seiya's company. A lot. She became a very good friend during the mess with Shadow Galactica."

"Oh? I saw more than just friendship sparks last night though, Usa-chan."

"No, you're right, there's definitely more to it than just friendship between us, but,"

"But what Usa-chan?! You're killing me here!" Minako cried jokingly.

"All I can say for sure right now is that I enjoy being with her. A lot," Usagi said slowly, blushing.

Usagi's mind wandered back to the night before. She remembered feeling the warmth of Seiya's skin on her hands, and the feeling of their closeness alone made her heart race in excitement and confusion. She had never felt like this before. Ever. She felt drawn to the Starlight, as if she couldn't spend enough time with her; when she was with Seiya, she felt inexplicably happy. Usagi couldn't help but compare how she was feeling for Seiya to how she used to feel for Mamoru.

Minako knew that Usagi's mind was a million miles away. She knew that her best friend was having a hard time coming to terms with the way life was turning out for them all. It would have almost been easier if Usagi and Mamoru had forced themselves to stay together. Things would have been that much simpler. She just wanted Usagi to be happy and to find love. She thought that maybe she could find love with Seiya.

"I think Seiya likes you; for what it's worth," Minako said simple, trying to call Usagi back to the present.

Usagi blinked. She shook her head trying to come back from her thoughts, "I think I like her too, I just don't know how much."

"What do you mean?" asked Minako.

Usagi chewed on her bottom lip, sitting up in the bed, "Well, I like her, but does it mean I want to have a romantic relationship with her? I feel flustered and confused. Sometimes I want to throw myself into her arms, but I'm also afraid when she looks at me. I don't even know how I would be able to handle it if she looked at other girls. She makes me laugh like you do and I know that she just wants me to be happy… it's just so different from how I had felt with Mamo-chan. She feels like a best friend, not a lover, really, is it supposed to feel that different? I'm so confused by everything I'm feeling." By this point Usagi's bottom lip started to tremble and she had wrapped her arms around herself for comfort.

"Aw, Usa-chan," Minako sat up and wrapped her arms around her confused best friend. "Of course it will feel different! You've never really fallen in love like this before!" She pitied her friend who had never really experienced the stressful confusing part of falling for someone. "Now that I think about it, you and Mamoru never really had the chance to fall in love in this lifetime. You guys just picked up from where Serenity and Endymion left off. Besides, you can't keep comparing your feelings for Seiya to how you had felt about Mamoru. They're two very different people, and the things you love about them are different. And I can tell you right now, no one likes being compared to someone's ex!"

Usagi sighed, "I guess that's kind of how it all worked out. But how do I tell if I love Seiya romantically and not just as a friend?"

Minako jumped off the bed, reaching her hands out to Usagi, "Why don't you guys just see how your feelings evolve around each other. It's not destiny, so it's not like you have to force each other. Just see how things turn out organically. You'll feel that push of desire if it's meant to be."

Usagi let herself get pulled up out of bed. It wasn't the same as knowing that you're destined for someone, but then again, that ship had already sailed. She wanted someone who loved her for herself, not because she was destined to be with them. She would figure this whole love thing out the hard way.

"You're right Mi-chan."

"Of course I'm right when it comes to stuff like this!" Minako chuckled. "Don't worry, we'll figure it all out."

Twin grumbles echoed into the room. The two girls laughed.

Usagi added sheepishly, "Let's try to figure it out, AFTER breakfast."

~.~

Seiya's eyes were closed. Her long ebony locks cascaded around her face. She could feel herself waking up, but knowing that she didn't want to. She hadn't even realized that she had fallen asleep from the previous night, but now she refused to wake up.

Seiya couldn't tell if she was excited, hungry, tired, confused or all of the above. Last night had been so surreal that she half expected it to be a dream. A cruel, cruel hoax of a dream.

She sighed an opened her eyes. Light filtered in through the curtains into her room. She held her left hand out in front of her face tracing the outline of her hand with her eyes. She could still feel what she thought was Usagi's warmth on her hand. If it had all been a dream, she wanted to go back to bed. She laid her arm over her eyes, trying to force hersef back into that wonderful dream. _It had to have been a dream. Why would Odango come to Kinmoku just for a party?! Why would she ask about how I feel about her if she has her boy friend with her!?_

BANG BANG BANG.

Seiya didn't even jump at the sound of the banging on her door. "Go away," Seiya groaned.

"Get up," Yaten yelled from the other side of the door.

Seiya ignored her cousin. She could be so annoying. The door to her room opened and Yaten stuck in her face into the room.

"Or do you not want have breakfast with Usagi and her friends?"

Seiya sat up abruptly in her bed. "Huh, what?"

"Breakfast stupid. You know? Food? As is in the stuff Usagi always stuffs herself with? I would have thought you'd be down there by now trying to hand feeding her, like you were last night," Yaten chuckled sarcastically.

"They're really here?" Seiya.

Yaten rolled her eyes. Seiya was acting more stupid than her usual. "Baka," she growled. "I'm going. Wake up."

Realization hit Seiya like a ton of bricks. Last night happened. Last night had really happened. Usagi was in Kinmoku for the gala, they danced and ate, and they held hands under the fireworks.

She remembered being floored by Usagi's question about how she felt about her. She would have to answer Usagi's question eventually. Though first she had better apologize to her about everything during her time with Shadow Galactica. A shower. Seiya probably needed a shower.

Seiya jumped out of bed. Time was wasting. A spring was back in her step. Just the thought of her Odango on the same planet as her filled Seiya with vigor. She didn't know how long they were going to be here, but she planned on making the most of it. Singing the lyrics of a song she written for Usagi, Seiya went to get ready for the day.

* * *

So- this chapter is subject to change, the lack of a beta is starting to get to me, so please bear with me. Thanks for reading! Please review!

::bows in gratitude::

ja'na


	17. Chapter 17

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

Thank you for the reviews and the new follows! It makes me so excited when people follow my story! ::squeals:: I love the review from Fairy Tale Fantastic 4EVER! You'll see! It'll be a fun twist! But I love all of my reviews! Thank you for sticking with me thus far!

Sailorearth19, I will probs take you up on the beta thing, I will pm you as soon as I get back home! Thank you!

I would like to address comments about Seiya being female in this story- please refer to my profile as I sort of go over it more in depth there.

The plot bunnies are all conspiring against me, but I believe I have won this battle! Not so sure about the war though-

Without further ado, Enjoy!

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Chapter 17:

A shadow of darkness ebbed and flowed. The movement of darkness never ceased, it never grew tired, only more erratic and larger. At the core of the dark mass, a body tinged in a dark purple light unraveled from the darkness.

"Get up," a deep heavy voice growled. It seemed to embody darkness and a deep passionate hate.

The body of the young woman twitched.

"I said get up," the voice screamed sending a bolt of dark electricity to the comatose body.

Her body twitched again. A groan escaped from her lips. Her body was seized by dark energy forcing her to her feet. The young woman was more of a girl; probably no more than fourteen or fifteen years old. Her pale pink hair done up in cone shaped buns on top of her head with the rest of her hair cascading down her back in twin tails.

She stood swaying on her feet, her red eyes, dull as if her soul had been snuffed out of her. The dark power around her thickened until if suffocated her, stifling her breath. She screamed. She screamed until what felt like forever.

All of a sudden her screams stopped. The darkness seemed to glow with an eerie purple light. It pulsed sending a wave of negativity throughout the galaxy.

And there stood Lady Chaos.

She floated just above the ground in her black lace baby doll dress and heeled black boots; in her hands was an orb of dark energy, the aura crackling with intense anger.

"Go forth Lady Chaos, and do my bidding," Chaos' soft evil voice rang through the air and in her head. He gripped her very existence and squeezed applying just enough pain to make her obey.

Lady Chaos held back a scream from the pain. Chaos had learned his lesson from his previous embodiments. He would not allow another failure by letting his avatar free reign. Oh no, he would control Lady Chaos' every move.

Chaos wasn't sure how he was able to escape from the prison of the minds of people that Eternal Sailor Moon had imprisoned him in. He was able to affect more people that way, but he had been spread too thin; only able to control so many people from within. It didn't matter. Now he was free again and was able to focus his power on the floating shell of a child that was pulled from time. He didn't know how the rabbit got there, but he greedily snatched her from space and used her to anchor his energy. She was now him, and he was she; one would not exist without the other. When he had tapped into her body, ready to overwhelm her soul, he found only a split star seed; no soul existed in this body, but that was all the better for him. Controlling a body without a soul would be easier than having to fight off the original host.

But even with his control over his new avatar, he needed to tread carefully. Lady Chaos still had the capability to summon the light that could destroy him. He would not give her the chance to betray him. Together they will overtake the galaxy and hurl it into the darkness. The time of light was over, now was the time for the reign of chaos.

"Go," Chaos commanded Lady Chaos. "Infiltrate the weaker systems. Ruin them from the inside out slowly. We need the power of their pain to feed off of. If you see anyone with potential, recruit them into our army."

Lady Chaos knelt down onto one knee, "Yes, Lord Chaos."

"I will be with you, you have the power. Go."

Lady Chaos stood with hatred in her eyes. With the orb in her small hands, she reached for the closest system in her mind with the weakest power. She took the darkness within and teleported in a streak of dark smoke.

~.~

Seiya had not made it in time to have breakfast with Usagi and the scouts, but she was able to secure Usagi's company for the day. The Earth senshi and their princess wanted to tour around the city and the Starlights along with Kakyuu had volunteered to escort them around the festival.

Seiya, Tooru, Taiki, Yaten and Kosoku were all waiting at the front gates of the palace waiting for the other ladies to accompany them. Kakyuu and Usagi were walking down arm in arm wearing the traveling garbs of Kinmokan royalty; Kakyuu in her traditional yellow, orange and red, while Usagi's dress was ivory, light blue and gold. Even Usagi's hair was pinned up in the Royal Kinmokan style. The rest of the Earth senshi were dressed in their own festive clothing they had purchased in the first few days they had been on the planet.

Usagi pouted at Seiya who had raised her eyebrow at her outfit. The dress was beautiful. It had short puffed sleeves with a sheer material running the length of her arms to her wrists; the short skirt had the same sheer fabric over it floating to the ground in petals in the traditional Kinmokan style, "Her majesty had this dress out for me by the time I got out of my bath," she said simply.

Kakyuu giggled, "It's just mother's way of welcoming you to the family, Usa-chan."

Usagi attempted to glare at her friend, but signed in defeat. "Of course I would never want to hurt your mother's feelings by not accepting the dress she had made just for me," she whined, "But I'm not Kinomkan royalty!"

"But you are royalty, and the savior of our planet," Kakyuu chided her friend.

Rei interjected, "Even if it's way to regal for you," she teased.

Usagi turned to glare at the fire senshi, she opened her mouth to retort, but Seiya stepped in and took her hand bowing to one knee.

"It would be my honor to escort you today, Princess Serenity," she flourished, smirking.

The group laughed at her silliness, grateful to cut off the argument between Usagi and Rei, which probably would have lasted throughout the day.

"I would love for you to escort me, Sei-chan," Usagi said primly while smiling, taking the Starlight's arm, wrapping her own arm around it. She turned to discreetly stick her tongue out at Rei who replied in kind.

The group split up seeing that they had all wanted to do different things. Kakyuu and Tooru decided to visit the various booths from around the planet with Taiki and Ami who wanted to accompany them to learn more about the planet. Rei, Makoto went with Kosoku to check out the celebrations being held at the greenhouse and temple. Usagi, Seiya, Minako and Yaten went to try out the rides at the fair that was being held in honor of the gala in the center of the shopping district.

As soon as they arrived at the shopping district however, Minako and Yaten spied some outfits in the windows of nearby stores; quicker than it took to apologize to Usagi and Seiya, the two shopaholics sped off talking fashion and who looked better in what.

Seiya chuckled in their wake shaking her head. "Looks like it's just you and me now, hime," she said looking down at Usagi.

Usagi groaned out a laugh. "Of course we would lose them as soon as we hit the shopping district," she glanced slyly at Seiya. "Wanna make a bet to see who drops first?"

Without even having to think about it Seiya replied, "Minako. She has no idea who she is dealing with. This is Yaten we're talking about. Yaten and shopping." Seiya shuddered.

Usagi broke out into a wolfish grin, "You're on. There's no way Yaten will be able to keep up with her. You do you know that besides being the goddess of love and beauty she's also pretty much the goddess of shopping!?" Usagi laughed. "Shopping practically goes hand in hand with beauty and love."

"Shake on it. Loser gets to be at the beck and call for the winner for a week," Seiya replied not threatened. She knew she was going to win the bet, might as well make the stakes high.

Usagi smiled brightly at Seiya shaking her hand; in her opinion, Seiya just made herself Usagi's servant for a week. Yaten might be good at a lot of things, especially with her stubborn temperament, but this was shopping and Minako. It was no contest.

"Oh this is going to be good," Usagi said sweetly.

"We'll see about that," Seiya scoffed back, "I think I'll have you clean my room first…"

"Oh, we'll see."

~.~

For the rest of the afternoon Usagi and Seiya covered every inch of the fair. They went on all the rides from the go-karts to the Manor of Terror, laughing every step of the way and rekindling their friendship. It reminded them about the date they had back on Earth at the amusement park. It was as if no time had passed in between them. Seiya bought them both food when she knew Usagi would get a craving and Usagi entwined their arms when she felt Seiya wanted to be near her.

Things just made sense when they did them together. It was a feeling neither of them could shake off.

They walked back to the palace hand in hand to get ready for the evening festivities.

"So you're going to be pretty busy this week doing my bidding, huh?" Usagi asked Seiya cheekily.

Seiya whined, "Odango, come on, have pity on me."

"Nuh-uh! A bet's a bet, and I won!" Usagi sang.

"No fair, you knew that you would win," Seiya groaned.

"You were just as sure as I was that you would win!" she retorted.

Just as Seiya and Usagi were leaving the shopping district, an ecstatic Minako skipped towards them loaded full of bags in her hands; Yaten, trailed behind her, feet dragging looking exhausted. Usagi had looked over at Seiya with triumph in her eyes. Clearly, Minako had out-shopped Yaten. Seiya had never thought she would see the day that where Yaten would be out shopped; she was clearly shell shocked from the experience. They were waiting for transportation from the palace to pick them and their purchases up.

Seiya, being a woman of her word, would hold up her part of the bet. And as promised, she would wait hand and foot on Usagi for a week. Secretly, she was thrilled to have an excuse to spend the time with her Odango-atama. At least now she didn't need an excuse to be around her.

"Ne, Sei-chan," asked Usagi after some silence lapsed in their conversation.

"What is it, Odango?"

"Mou! I am not Odango!" Usagi pouted. "You can't even say that to me now with my hair like this!" she stated pointing at her Kinmokan updo.

Seiya grinned and chuckled, "You will always be my Odango-hime, no matter what your hair looks like."

Usagi laughed, "You're impossible, you know that?!"

Seiya smirked back at the blonde winking, "But that's what you love about me."

Usagi rolled her eyes, deciding to change the subject, "I'm really glad that we made it out here for your gala."

"I'm glad that you made it," Seiya replied quietly.

Their hands swung back and forth as they walked. They walked through the palace, and as they stood in front of Usagi's guest room, Seiya took Usagi's hand in her own, and brought it up to her lips, kissing the back of her hand gently. Seiya released Usagi's hand smiling down at Usagi lovingly.

The day had just been too amazing. Throughout the entire day she kept holding back her desire to wrap her arms around the blonde princess. They had fun, they laughed and ate; all she wanted to do now was kiss Usagi until both their lungs were seared for air.

Usagi blushed prettily. Her head felt light from the look that Seiya was giving her. She may be naïve, but she wasn't stupid. The passion behind the Starlight's deep indigo eyes made her knees feel weak. A desire that she had never felt before, even with Mamoru, rose up from her very core tingling all of her senses.

Usagi took a step back biting her lip. Seiya resisted taking a step forward to follow her.

"Meet me in an hour or so to escort me to dinner?" Usagi asked shyly.

Seiya bowed with flourish, "Of course my princess," her eyes never leaving Usagi, her smile widening seeing the Moon Princess biting her lip. Seiya winked and turned on her heels to get ready.

Usagi collapsed onto her door, her heart beating erratically. Her head felt light, her lips trembling with desire. She wanted to feel Seiya's lips on places other than her hand. That much she knew. She was only starting to sort out her raging hormones when a wave of evil rippled through her. Her head shot up and her body tensed. She couldn't sense anything after that initial wave, but a feeling of foreboding lumped in her stomach. Something wasn't right.

Usagi shook back the idea of it all being in her head. She knew what she had felt. She had suffered too much in the past for letting omens slip by. She needed to know what was going on. She turned into her room to change; not into her ball gown for that night's festivities, but into a set of miko robes. She was going to head to the temple to meditate.

She ran to Seiya's room, knocking on the door. She hoped the Starlight wouldn't mind the change in plans.

Seiya opened her door in surprise her towel wrapped around her lean body, wet hair in her eyes; she was not expecting anyone at her door. Her smiled faded from her face seeing Usagi so serious despite the blush that being in her towel caused.

"I'm sorry Sei-chan, there have been a change of plans. I need to go to the temple. Will you come with me?" Usagi said seriously avoiding looking at the gorgeous Starlight in embarrassment.

Seiya felt a tinge of pleasure that Usagi would go to her for help and she enjoyed seeing the light blush on Usagi's cheek. "Let me change real quick, come on in." Seiya stepped aside to let Usagi into her room.

Usagi hesitated only for a moment before steeling herself and walking in. As much as she wanted to squeal at the circumstances, right now she couldn't afford to think about how attractive Seiya's figure looked as she walked back to her bathroom to change. Usagi shook her head, her cheeks blushing deeper knowing that she was gawking at the Starlights long lean legs. _Not the time Usa-baka,_ she chastised herself.

Seiya came back out of the bathroom as Sailor Star Fighter. "Let me just send a message to Kakyuu-hime and we can go."

Usagi nodded, "Great, I'll fill you in on the way."

They left the Starlight's room heading toward the palace gates, Seiya had called her personal servant to send their message to the princess, the other Starlights and senshi.

Unconsciously Usagi reached out for Seiya's hand for comfort as they walked out into the twilight. She fervently hoped this was a false alarm.

* * *

dun dun dunnnnnnn! The plot thickens!

Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think! I really love reviews, I swear! It makes me write faster or something. Promise!

::bows in gratitude::

ja'na


	18. Chapter 18

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

Hello everyone! I'm excited about this chapter and hope you like it as much as I do!

Thank you for all the new follows and a big thank you to **Sailorearth19**, **Queenusagi**! **Fairy Tale Fantastic 4ever**, I love your reaction/review and I apologize for letting that something die inside you; I will do my best to resuscitate it! **Usakokoa**, thank you for such an amazing review it's fellow writers/reviewers like you that I write for! Everyone should check out her story Down the rabbit hole, it's so good! (I can't wait for the next chapter!)

Thank you all for your continued support in reading my fic! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 18:

Usagi sat in front of the fire at the temple in meditation, her beautiful porcelain face frowning in concentration. Fighter couldn't see her aura, but could feel the focus of power emanating from her still figure. Fighter guarded the temple warily. She didn't think that there would be any danger, but she had been wrong before. Better safe than sorry, she tensed up and raised her arms in attack mode as she felt two figures running up to the temple at top speed.

Minako and Rei ran up to the temple after getting Seiya's message. They were surprised to be confronted by Star Fighter in front of the temple's main gate. She relaxed her pose as she recognized Minako and Rei. They slowed down in front of her.

"Is she safe?" Minako started out. Ever since the battle with Galactica, Minako swore to herself that she would put her princess' safety first over anything. They had come too close to losing her too many times. And as the leader of the senshi, she felt responsible. Guilt gripped Minako; their princess had been taking her position more seriously, and it was about time that the leader of the senshi did too.

Fighter smiled at the leader of the sailor senshi. "Yes, she's meditating."

Rei turned to the temple, "I'll change and go meditate with her." As the spiritual advisor for Sailor Moon, she wanted to see if her abilities could identify something their princess might miss. Her heart raced with apprehension. If their princess had gotten an omen strong enough that she preferred to meditate over joining the party; well, that was something to be nervous about. Something really evil had to be going on.

Minako morphed into Sailor Venus. "We'll keep watch over you two, let us know if you need anything."

Rei nodded disappearing into the temple.

Venus turned to Fighter. "Thank you for protecting her thus far."

"I'm not going anywhere," Fighter interrupted, thinking that Venus was telling her to leave.

Venus smiled, "I'm not asking you to go. I just wanted to thank you." Venus turned to face away from the temple taking in the surroundings, her eyes adjusting to the darkness.

That got Fighter's attention. "What for?" She was curious. She remembered when they had left Earth, the senshi were practically throwing themselves in between Seiya and Usagi in attempt to separate the two. But now that she thought about it, the inners were practically leaving them alone on purpose.

Venus tuned back to look at Fighter as if she was thinking about whether to respond or not. "She's been down," she said simply. "Being here and seeing you has really brought her spirits back up."

"Why has she been down? I thought that she was waiting for her happily every after with Mamoru. I mean, he did propose to her after all," Fighter stated evenly. She felt that something was wrong, but she knew if she just waited calmly, maybe Venus would answer her questions. A slow hope began to rise in her chest.

"Come do a perimeter check with me," Venus turned leaping to the top of a near by tree.

Fighter followed her as they leaped around the temple checking the perimeter for anything out of the ordinary. They landed on top of the temple surveying the view below them. The palace was lit up on the horizon, the party in full swing. None of the planet's three moons where anywhere in sight, a race occurrence on Kinmoku. The sky was lit up by the brightness of the starts twinkling mysteriously they seemed to be holding onto a secret. Fighter waited for Venus to say something.

"Usa and Mamoru broke up," she said quietly.

Fighter took a step back. It was impossible. Usagi and Mamoru loved each other more than anything; nothing couldn't get in between them, she knew, she had tried. "I don't understand," she started.

Venus sighed and turned to face Fighter. Her eyes filled with unshed tears. "She's changed so much. We didn't really realize it all at first, but after you guys left, she wasn't the same."

"She does seem a little different," Fighter offered.

Venus shook her head, "It's more complicated than that."

Fighter didn't say anything; she just stood, looking expectantly at Venus.

"The battle with Shadow Galactica hurt her more than any of us thought it would. She doesn't talk about it, but the I think part of that battle broke her." She laughed bitterly, "Ironically, she changed in ways that we had always teased her about. Though, I would do anything to get the old her back," Venus turned back to the view of the palace. "She's matured. She's quieter, more focused and less impulsive. Her grades are better, she's less clumsy, but there's a reticence about her."

"But she seems just as happy," Fighter started to say.

"She's not. It's a front to keep up from worrying." Venus sighed. "It's not easy protecting a princess who's hell-bent on trying to protect you first."

"Now that I can believe," Seiya chuckled with understanding; Odango was exactly that kind of princess. "But what about her and Mamoru-san?"

"Usa-chan let him go. He fell out of love with her, and she loved him too much to tie him to her now that she knew they wouldn't have to have Chibi-usa," Venus explained.

"Chibi-usa?"

Venus turned to Fighter in confusion, she looked at her and a realization hit, "Oh. Right, I guess we never told you about all that." She tapped her finger to her lips trying to figure out where to start. "Long story short, Chibi-usa was supposed to be Usagi's and Mamoru's daughter."

"They're daughter?! How did they figure that out?" Fighter said, shocked.

"Past battles," Venus explained, "Chibi-usa had come back from the future to help fight several battles we had on Earth, and that's how we all found out that she was supposed to be Usagi's and Mamoru's."

Something clicked in her mind. It was an epiphany for Fighter. Memories from their time on Earth filled her mind. She felt like a world-class ass. It was no wonder. No wonder Usagi had always been committed to Mamoru. She had been pushing herself onto Usagi, and all she had wanted to do was hold on to her future daughter. She was furious at herself.

In the back of her mind, Fighter rationally thought that she hadn't known, so really it wasn't her fault for attempting to win over the moon princess. Something as big as wanting to make sure your future daughter would come to fruition is kind of a big thing, and something Fighter thought she would probably have respected. Probably. Maybe. She thought she would have at least.

Venus gave Fighter a moment knowing that she needed to let all the information sink in. Everyone pretty much knew how Seiya had felt about Usagi back on Earth and the new information about a supposed daughter would shock anyone. Once it looked like Fighter's eyes weren't going to pop from her head she decided to continue.

"But Usagi says that Chibi-usa's starseed had already been born, so it looks like her and Mamoru aren't her parents, so she let him go," she paused tears forming in her eyes. "She still loved him so much. But he wanted his freedom from their 'destiny.' And she gave it to him." The tears silently streamed down Venus' face. "She actually thinks that no one would want to love her if not for destiny. Can you believe that?! The only person I know who can and does love literally everyone unconditionally thinks she's unworthy of love. But even now, with her heartbroken knowing that they won't have that picture perfect future that Pluto was always raving about, she loves him and wants him to be happy. "

Seiya walked up to her and pat her shoulder in comfort. Venus pat her hand in gratitude.

Venus wiped her tears away and stood tall. "It's why we love her," she said proudly sniffing. "She hasn't been happy; not since Mamoru," she faltered. "But coming here… spending time to Kakyuu-hime and you, Seiya. She's smiling, and I can see the sparkle in her eyes again. So. That's why I want to thank you."

A comfortable silence fell between the two senshi; their minds going over the conversation. Venus wondered if she had told Seiya too much about what was going on with their princess, but after seeing how Seiya had looked at Usagi the night before, she felt she had done the right thing by her princess. Usagi deserved all the happiness the galaxy had to offer, and Minako was going to make sure she got it whether she wanted it or not.

Seiya's mind was racing almost as fast as her heart. A million thoughts assaulted her mind. It was so much information to take it, but she knew, despite learning about all of what had happened, one thing wouldn't change; how she felt about her Odango.

Venus leapt up from the top of the temple to land in front of the temple gates. Fighter followed her landing silently behind her.

"I love her," Fighter said to Venus' back.

Venus didn't turn and asked defensively, "And what do you plan on doing with this information?"

"I think she loves me too."

"And if she does? You live here on Kinmoku; we live on Earth. You have your princess to protect."

"I will find a way to be with her."

Venus started to walk toward the temple calmly. "Prove it."

Fighter watched Sailor Venus walk into the temple, a fire in her soul ignited. _Challenge accepted. _

~.~

Queen Serenity felt a familiar presence approaching. She ran to the balcony outside of the throne room where visitors teleported to. She almost tripped over the small step that raised the platform from the stoned path. Quickly, she righted herself smoothing down her dress, hoping no one saw.

"If I weren't here on urgent business, I would laugh at how much you haven't changed Serenity," an amused voice called out.

Queen Serenity looked up in surprise, she lamented, "Of course you would be the one to see me trip, Diamond."

King Diamond of the Planet Eris, also known as the Dark Kingdom smiled cheekily at his cousin, albeit with a pain in his eyes. He stood tall, if not wearily with his white hair glistening in the light, his upside down moon crescent glowing gold on his forehead.

Serenity was able to detect the pain in her favorite cousin's eyes. She didn't know that he had been resurrected, but she wasn't surprised. For as much as her cousin was loved to embody his 'bad boy' image, he was a good king and a kind person, she was glad that he had been given a second chance at life as well.

"Please Diamond, be welcome. What is your urgent business? Can I help in any way?" Queen Serenity bowed to her cousin, he bowed formally in return.

The Moon Queen was awaiting a response when she heard footsteps running towards the balcony. She turned putting herself slightly in front of her cousin. If her suspicions were correct, there would probably be some misunderstanding at her cousin's appearance. She might not have been present for the battle with Diamond in the past, but she knew of it from Luna and her hologram's memories.

She was right. Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune ran out into the balcony, weapons at the ready.

"Your majesty! An intruder…" Sailor Uranus started, stopping when she saw Diamond. "You!" she growled, powering up an attack.

Serenity raised a hand and commanded in a tremendous voice, "STOP," her voice reverberated in the night.

Uranus knew enough of her queen's commands to obey instantaneously, even though her instincts told her otherwise. She could not disobey a direct order. She stopped, standing next to her partner in confusion who also had her arms up defensively.

"This is my cousin, King Diamond," Queen Serenity explained calmly. "He is of no threat in this time, and has come seeking aid."

"We… we did not sense his coming until he was at the palace, your majesty," Neptune went to apologize.

The queen and Diamond smiled gently, looking at each other. She explained, "Family of our blood line do not pose a threat unless I reprogram the system to be alerted when they approach. As he is my favorite cousin, King Diamond is always welcome to my court, as is his brother, Prince Sapphire."

Uranus and Neptune knew their duty and fell to one knee.

"Forgive us, your Majesties," Neptune said.

"Fear not, I understand your caution when it comes to me," Diamond explained, "I hold memories from before my reincarnation, and hold no grudges, but I do hope you come to understand that I come in peace this time."

The two senshi rose from their knees and followed their queen and her seemingly innocent cousin through the throne room into the royal sitting room.

Once they were all comfortably seated, Diamond spoke up, "Serenity, I need your help," the desperation was clear in his voice.

"Of course, cousin, you have my help, but what seems to be that matter?" the queen replied. She knew her cousin, and his strength. He only asked for helped when he had no other option. She feared for how bad a situation could be for him to call her for help so openly.

"It's my daughter."

"Your daughter?" the three women spoke in the room in surprise.

Diamond grimaced, "I don't know what's wrong with her, Sere. I can't heal her, nothing I've done has worked, I feel like I'm going to lose her! I can't lose her too!" The young king cried into his hands, his anguish touching the women around him.

Queen Serenity sat straight, "Tell me everything," she commanded.

* * *

And there you have it! Thank you for reading! Please review!

I'm not sure when the next update will be as life stuff is happening, but hopefully I'll have time to write this upcoming week between life and jobs and stuff!

::Bows in gratitude::

ja'na!


	19. Chapter 19

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

I am SO sorry I was late posting this chapter. Life just got hectic all of a sudden because CHANGE. I love it and hate it all at the same time. But enough about me!

BIG thank you to my reviewers SailorEarth19, Alexandra, and Fairy Tale Fantastic 4Ever (and to clarify, Diamond and Queen Serenity are distant cousins as Serenity is of the line from Hyperion and Theia while Diamond is from Zeus and Hera's line. PM if you want me to explain it more thoroughly, but it's not incestuous at all. As far as the age thing, they are immortal, so age is kind of a grey area, he at least didn't go after her when she was a kid.)

I digress- also big thank you's to all my new followers! I love getting that email that more ppl are following my story! ::SQUEALs::

Let's get this show on the road! Thanks for reading!

* * *

Chapter 19:

Usagi felt Rei settling down beside her as she continued to slow her breathing. She was grateful to have the miko's expertise on-hand, together they should be able to see if there was anything drastically wrong.

Rei settled herself down next to Usagi, crossing her legs so that their knees touched. She felt Usagi's nerves immediately relax and she smiled to herself, glad that her princess wanted to have her nearby. Rei closed her eyes and began to let her mind let go. As she focused her energy to the power around her she felt herself drawn to the blazing fire in front of her and Usagi. The fire folded her into its warmth and calm. From within the fire she started to feel her vision. A pain, lanced through her stomach, a writhing scream was caught in her throat. She felt as if her body was being torn into thousands of pieces and as abruptly as the pain started, it stopped. Rei's vision cleared and an image started to manifest in the fire. A dark cloud of evil grew into a large sphere; Rei could feel pain and agony as the sphere grew larger and larger. A dark figure within a figure stood at the center of the sphere, but it was too dark and too hazy for her to get a proper glimpse at the two figures at the center of the chaos.

Chaos.

Rei and Usagi's eyes both shot open at the thought. They both knew from the bottom of their souls that Chaos was back—and that he was not alone.

Rei turned to look at her princess in concern. Chaos had been behind the battle with Shadow Galactica and they had all fallen at his hands. She knew that their princess would not let them fall the same way into Chaos' hands.

Rei saw the look of determination on Usagi's face. Inside, she beamed with pride at how her princess had matured. Usagi had come a long way from the whiny fourteen-year-old crybaby.

Usagi sighed. She had shared Rei's vision and knew without the shadow of doubt that Chaos was back. She had hoped that his banishment into the minds of people would be enough to weaken him for a little longer, but something clearly had happened. She couldn't spare thoughts for wondering how he had managed to set himself free; she needed to focus on how to protect the people she loved.

"He's back," Rei said softly, not really wanting to voice the obvious.

Usagi winced, "Saying it out loud makes it that much more real, huh?"

"What's the plan of action?" Rei asked her princess, she was never one to pull punches.

"We warn everyone, and then we fight," Usagi replied evenly. "I'm afraid we're going to have to cut this vacation short though. Let's wait until after the last day of the gala before holding a senshi meeting."

"But…" Rei started.

Usagi shook her head, "We should all enjoy the last few days of the gala, whatever is going to happen, it won't be within the next week or two. I want us all to enjoy at least this much."

Rei nodded slowly.

"Let's not tell the others about it yet, okay?" Usagi asked Rei quietly, her head bowed down over her hands.

Rei moved closer to her friend and reached out to pat her hand. As she gently placed her hand atop Usagi's a tear dripped down onto the back of her hand. She bent her head down in order to see Usagi's face. Slow tears trailed down her princess's face. Rei was infamous for mocking Usagi about her crybaby tendencies, but the heartbreaking look on Usagi's face froze Rei.

"I'm so sorry," Usagi whispered to her fire senshi. "I'm so sorry that I have to put you all through this again."

Rei was stunned those were the last words she expected to hear Usagi utter, "No! Don't cry, not for that!"

"I should have been strong enough to totally banish him!" Usagi cried to herself. "I should have… I should have…"

Rei grabbed Usagi by the shoulders forcing her to look into the fire senshi's eyes. "You saved the galaxy Usagi. You saved us. You saved everyone! You were stronger than all of us. Hell you were stronger than Galactica!" Rei said firmly. She finally figured out that yelling got nowhere with Usagi. If you really wanted her to listen you needed to speak to her with a clear and firm voice, not a shrieking one. "There is nothing else you could have done, and no one will blame you for his coming back. No one."

Usagi tried to shake her head, but Rei would not let Usagi leave the temple thinking it was her fault that Chaos had come back.

"Usagi, look at me," Rei commanded. Usagi looked up at Rei with slow tears still spilling from her eyes. Rei, who was usually so composed and fiery with her defiant pride had a soft vulnerable look in her eyes. "It is not your fault," she said more softly, "He found a way out, it was bound to happen, but this time we know he's coming and we have each other to fight him with. You banished him once, we can beat him again!"

Rei was ashamed at the emotion that she was showing, but the change in her princess had left her unsettled. Usagi was supposed to be the one that wore her emotions on her sleeve, not her.

Usagi looked to her friend with gratitude, "Thank you, Rei. Of course, you're right," she replied softly.

Rei stood up and offered her hands to the still sitting down princess, "Come on, let's enjoy the rest of the gala. We'll worry about Chaos in a few days, okay?"

Usagi pulled herself up with Rei's help and wiped the tears from her face trying to compose herself for Minako and Seiya who were still guarding the temple. She nodded at Rei's words.

"Why don't you just worry about whatever is going on between you and Seiya for now," Rei teased.

Usagi blushed, she didn't think that the others noticed just how much time she had been spending with Seiya. "There's no-nothing," Usagi started to deny.

"Uh-huhhhh. Sure there isn't. You know, the Kinmokan senshi are placing bets on when Seiya will confess her love to you," she continued to tease.

Usagi stopped in her tracks and turned as red as her miko robes. The door opened in front of them and Sailor Venus and Sailor Star Fighter walked into the room.

Fighter and Venus exchanged a look after seeing the dark haired priestess looking smug at a bright red Usagi.

With a raised eyebrow Fighter and began to ask what had happened, but Usagi interrupted her, her face turning an even darker shade of red, "Don't ask, please don't ask, it was nothing."

Rei burst out laughing.

~.~

The days of the gala rolled by, and everyone was in high spirits. It was almost as if they had forgotten about all the trials and tribulations from the past.

Usagi threw herself into the celebrations, she was often seen with Seiya having fun; they laughed, ate, and danced as if neither of them had a care in the world; though there were many times during the day that the two seemed to disappear. The Sol-ar System senshi thought that a passionate romance was budding and it seemed as if they had their old Usagi back. Usagi just seemed so carefree and her smile was bright and full of joy.

The only person who knew any better was Seiya. She was the one closest to Usagi during the last few days of the celebration; she knew that something had changed in Usagi's demeanor after the night at the temple. She tried to enjoy herself with her Odango, but her concern grew and grew at Usagi's suspiciously carefree behavior, especially after the request for a surprise that Usagi had planned for her senshi at the last day of the gala.

~.~

The morning after the night at the temple, Usagi had gone to Seiya's room before breakfast. She had knocked lightly at her door. But no one answered. She smiled to herself knowing how deep of a sleeper Seiya could be and tested the doorknob. It wasn't locked. She hesitated for a moment before opening the door.

Slowly Usagi crept up to Seiya's bed in a nook of the room by the balcony. She quickly took in her surroundings, chuckling at Seiya's sense of décor. Seiya's room was cluttered with instruments and books from both Earth and Kinmoku, posters littered her wall with her favorite musicians. She HAD to tell Michiru that Seiya had a poster of her on her wall when they got back to Earth.

Usagi peeked at Seiya, snuggled in her sheets. "Seiya," she whispered, trying to ease the Starlight from her slumber. She nudged the sleeping girl slightly. Nothing. She shook Seiya more forcibly. Still nothing.

Usagi shrugged to herself. She backed up a few steps. "SEIYAAAAA!" she yelled, as she ran up to her bed and jumped on top of the Starlight.

"Wha?!" Seiya jolted up from her slumber.

"Seiyaaaa get up!" Usagi sang, jumping up and down on her bed the same way Minako had woken her up a few days ago.

"O-odango?" Seiya said, sleep in her voice.

"Haiiiii!" she sang again.

Seiya reached out to Usagi, still half asleep, hugging the blonde as she lay down again, "Five more minutes," she mumbled cuddling Usagi close.

Usagi froze in Seiya's arms. She breathed in Seiya's sweet citrus scent. "Mou! Seiya! Wake up!" she exclaimed half heartedly, drunk off Seiya's scent, her mind reeling.

Seiya snuggled closer to Usagi causing her to blush. Usagi squeaked, she couldn't move. She tried to shake out of Seiya's grasp, but the Starlight had her trapped in her arms. "Seiyaaaaa," she began to whine. Usagi's heart was racing. It was a wonder that the sound of her heart beating wasn't enough to wake her up. Feeling Seiya's arms around her, Usagi had to recognize the feelings of warmth and safety. Her head was resting on Seiya's shoulder, her face burrowed into Seiya's neck. Their bodies were pressed together, and she could feel a shiver of pleasure that she had never felt before undulate over her. The feelings were almost too overwhelming.

"S-s-seiyaaaa," Usagi almost moaned. She felt the Starlight's arms wrapped around her tighten. Usagi took a few moments telling herself she was just trying to compose herself and settle her racing heart. She told herself that she wasn't enjoying the feeling of their bodies pressed up against each other.

Usagi craned her neck up to look at Seiya's face.

Seiya had a smirk on her face, though her eyes were still closed. She had honestly only been slightly awake when Usagi came bounding atop her bed, but she had woken up instantly once she heard Usagi moan her voice. A blush had started to creep up her neck, despite her smirk.

Usagi was too close and it was too dark in Seiya's room for her to notice the blush, but she noticed the smirk all to well. "I know you're awake, Seiya!" she exclaimed, her voice getting shrill in attempt to calm her still frantic heart.

Seiya opened her eyes and looked down in amusement, not realizing just how close their faces were. Her indigo eyes were met with an intense blue that sparkled with panic and, dare she thought, desire? It was the look in Usagi's eyes that shocked the cocky quip out of Seiya's lips. The closeness that they were sharing was something she had only ever dreamed about, it took everything in Seiya's power to resist kissing the blonde princess in her arms.

Seiya hugged Usagi tighter, trying to hide her blushing face over Usagi's shoulder, "Good morning, Odango," she whispered.

Usagi felt a tingle race up her spine from the sound of Seiya's deep voice, hearing the desire behind her words. Her mind blanked."G-g-good morning, Sei-chan," Usagi whispered back. She pushed her hands against Seiya's, pushing herself away from the Starlight, this time not meeting any resistance.

Seiya shifted and propped herself up on an elbow, "You know Odango," she smirked, trying to calm the mood in the room, "You should wake me up like this everyday!" Seiya winked at Usagi.

Usagi, groaned and shook her head, sitting up in Seiya's bed. "You know, I had originally come to ask for a favor, but after all this, I'm not sure I want your help afterall," she complained, crossing her arms turning away from Seiya.

Seiya's smirk widened into a mischievous smile. "Come on Odango," she said playing with one of Usagi's blonde tails in her hands. "You don't mean that. I'm your servant for a week, remember? I'll do anything. Let me make it up to you for dragging you into bed with me," she play pleaded with Usagi, tugging on her hair.

Usagi turned back to Seiya pouting, "Really anything?" she said innocently.

"Of course Odango," she replied confidently.

Usagi beamed into a smile, "Great! We've got a lot of work to do and only a few days to plan!" Usagi jumped up from the bed and flung the sheets off the bed. She grabbed Seiya's hand dragging her out of bed and shoving her into her bathroom.

As the door closed on her astonished face Seiya heard Usagi yell through the door, "I will see you in the music studio right after breakfast then! Hurry!"

~.~

Breakfast flew by in a flash and before she knew it, Seiya was in the middle of the Starlight's music studio sitting on her favorite chair waiting for Usagi. She had no idea what was going on, but hey, it meant more alone time with her Odango, so she wasn't about to complain. Seiya sat with her eyes closed, strumming on her guitar until she heard the studio door open.

Usagi had just walked in, "You know Odango, if you make a meeting with someone, you should make sure you're actually on time," Seiya teased.

Usagi stuck her tongue out at her, but settled herself down next to the Starlight, a notebook clutched in her arms. "I would have been on time, but I had to go back to my room to grab my notebook," she explained patiently.

"So," Seiya said, "What are we doing here?" She looked expectantly at Usagi.

Usagi inhaled deeply and blurted out, "Ineedhelpwritingasongtosingforthelastnightofthegala."

Seiya blinked. Seiya blinked again, "Say that again, but breathing this time," she said holding back a laugh.

Usagi blushed. "Well, I had talked about it with Kako-chan and she had said that it was alright, and at first I didn't know if it was really a good idea, but now that I think about it, I really want to do this for my friends, they have always been there for me through everything and I think that they deserve it and I think that it's something I should really do and please please help me!" Usagi babbled.

"Slow down, Odango," Seiya laughed, "Of course I'll help, but with what?"

"I need help writing a song," she whispered. "I have words, but I don't know how to write music."

Seiya's eyebrows went up in surprise.

"C-can you help me?" Usagi asked meekly.

"Of course I'll help you, Odango. I'm just a little surprised. I didn't know you could write music," she replied mostly honestly.

Usagi pouted, "You mean you didn't know if I could sing at all."

"Now that's not what I said, Odango," Seiya tried to defend herself. Sometimes Usagi could read her too well for her own good.

"You didn't have to say it, I know you thought it!" Usagi complained. "I'll have you know what Minako and I joined the singing club at school and we're even going to be in the talent show when we go back home!" she bragged.

"Haha. Okay, okay, I'm sorry I doubted you Odango," Seiya chuckled trying to appease her Moon Princess. "So let's see these lyrics that you have, what kind of song did you want it to be? How did you want to perform it?"

Seiya went into 'business mode.' She could tell that Usagi was earnest about writing this song so she would be serious about making sure she could match the feeling of the lyrics. God. This woman was going to be the death of her, she realized.

Usagi smiled almost sadly, "I want to sing it on stage, sitting on a stool I think. And I was hoping that maybe you could play on stage with me while I sang?"

Seiya nodded to herself, "That works," she reached over to the notebook that Usagi had opened, turning the pages towards her.

"I want it to feel like a ballad, but not totally depressing. I just want it to be uplifting and to get the meaning of my words across. I have a general tune figured out, but I don't know how to put the rest of it together," Usagi explained, waiting to see Seiya's reaction to reading her lyrics.

Seiya scanned the words on the notebook. She noted absently that Usagi's handwriting had NOT gotten any better since she last saw her. But what made her speechless were her words. She read the words to Usagi's song slowly, taking in one word at the time, letting the emotions flow over her soul.

Usagi began to hum the tune she had in mind for the song out of nerves. Seiya was taking her time reading her lyrics and she was getting nervous that the Starlight hated it.

Seiya read the song over again, matching Usagi's humming with the words on the page. Her mind raced with notes that matched the tune and she could see the chords flying to her fingers. She smiled and reached for her guitar next to her and set down the notebook.

"This is beautiful, Odango."

Usagi smiled so beautifully that Seiya thought her heart would break at the sweetness and pride that glowed in Usagi's eyes.

"I think I've got an idea, let me know what you think of this," she said, adjusting the guitar on her lap, Usagi scooted closer to the edge of her chair eagerly.

The afternoon rolled by with the two singing, laughing, arguing and piecing the song together. By the end of the day, they had the song down. All they needed to do was practice it over the next few days, and they would be ready for the final night of the gala.

* * *

Tah-daa! Long wait = long chapter! Right?!

Please review and/or just let me know what you think!? I love hearing from everyone!

Hopefully the next chapter will be written on time... ::sweatdrop:: We'll see if life wants to work with me this week.

So thanks for reading!

Ja'na!


	20. Chapter 20

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

To my followers, I AM SO SORRY! I won't make any excuses. Let us just say that I was detained. - on top of a tower, held hostage, by a rouge wizard, out for world domination, and i had accidentally crushed the moth that was supposed to call the eagles to carry me away. It sucked. I promise. I'll try not to get into the situation every again. -

Big thank you to **Sweetdorka**, **devlinjohns1e**, **Sailorearth19**, and **FleurSuoh** for chap 19 reviews! I Def took some of the comments into consideration! I would also like to welcome my new story followers! I love getting more followers!

So, the plot bunnies have been working against me and I had to start writing the skeleton for another SM story X_x I know it's a bad idea.. but I couldn't help myself! I'll post chaps for it, once I get something more concrete written- or it may just be one massive one-shot, we'll see.

**disclaimer 2**: The song that Usagi sings in this chapter is a revised version of Christina Perri's song, "Thousand Years"- I DO NOT OWN IT- nor do I like Twilight, but the shoe fit, so I wore it. It did NOT match my outfit, but I digress. Please don't hate me for it.

OKAY! Enough chit chat! Thank you for all your support and for reading my story! I love you all! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 20:

The last day of the gala was to be celebrated as one huge planet-wide music festival. Music was the one thing that Kinmokans loved the most, so it was only appropriate that music would bring the celebrations to an end. And of course, the Four Lights were going to headline the event in the capital at the palace. All around the planet, popular musicians from Kinmoku were going to be playing to honor the love that they all had for their planet.

The Sol-ar senshi spent the day getting ready at a spa while Usagi had told them that she had some business to attend to with Kakyuu and that they would get ready together. All she said was for them to have fun at the spa and that she would see them at the kick off concert in the early evening. She acted it flawlessly, without any of them being the least bit suspicious.

The plan was for Usagi to open the evening event before the Four Lights performed. She and Seiya had practiced diligently for a few days in secret, it was a nerve-wracking situation. Usagi was excited to be performing with Seiya. Even the other Starlights didn't know about the surprise performance. The only person who knew was Kakyuu.

The evening rolled by and everyone sat at their tables in front of the grand stage set up in the massive ballroom at the palace. The Sol-ar senshi were so excited to finally get the change to watch the Four Lights, that the didn't really think about their princess not being present for the moment. She had been spending so much time with Kakyuu that they thought that maybe the two princesses wanted to share the moment together.

Princess Kakyuu walked majestically to the front of the stage. She gave a short bow to the applauding audience. "My people," she addressed them, "my salutation shall be brief. As this celebration comes to a close, I want to thank all of you for your work, dedication and love for our planet. I know that we will continue to thrive and make our world a better and even happier place. Without further ado, please enjoy this evening's performances!"

The crowd cheered enthusiastically. The burgundy velvet curtains swayed in the breeze from the open French doors surrounding the ballroom, the lights in the ballroom dimmed and a soft sweet voice filled the room.

_Hearts beat fast__  
Colors and promises  
How to be brave?  
__How can I li__ve when I'm afraid to fall?_

The curtains slowly parted and there sat Usagi and Seiya in the dim spot light. Usagi sang softly with her eyes closed. She was wearing an over one shoulder ethereal gown of a pearl colored lace, the train of dress cascading down the tall stool to a pool at her bare dainty feet. Seiya was dressed in a smoky gray suit strumming along with Usagi's singing.

The inner senshi's mouths all dropped. They all thought, _USAGI?!_

_But watching you __all __stand alone,__  
All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow._

_We step closer_

Usagi opened her bright blue eyes, finding her inner senshi amongst the sea of people watching her performance. Usagi made eye contact with each of them, she put forth all the feelings that she had for her inner senshi into her words.

_I have died every day waiting for you  
Darling__s__, don't be afraid I have loved you__ all__  
For a thousand years  
I'll love you __all __for a thousand more_

The audience held their breaths. Usagi's song seemed to reach out and touch the very souls of every single person listening to her sugary silky voice.

_Time stands still  
Beauty in all she is  
I will be brave  
I will not let anything take away  
What's standing in front of __us__  
Every breath  
Every hour has come to this_

_Let's step closer_

Seiya's lower voice then joined Usagi, their voices melting together in synchronized harmony.  
_  
I have died every day waiting for you  
Darling__s__, don't be afraid I have loved you__ all__  
For a thousand years  
I'll love you __all __for a thousand more_

_And all along I believed I would find you __all_

_Time has brought your heart__s__ to me_

_I have loved you __all __for a thousand years__  
I'll love you __all __for a thousand more_

As their voices faded into the end of the song a moment of silence stilled the room. Then a roar of applause deafened the ballroom. The people of Kinmoku were touched by the sincerity and emotion that the two musicians displayed in front of them. They all felt that Princess Serenity and Sailor Star Fighter had just shared a part of their souls with them and all they could do with give their heartfelt thanks through applause.

The inner senshi's eyes were filled with touched tears. Each and every one of them knew that Usagi had written and sang that song about them, for them. As Usagi and Seiya stood up from their stools to take a bow, the inner senshi stood up, their tears bright in their eyes, giving them a standing ovation. Everyone in the ballroom followed their lead and stood up as well, clapping their hearts out.

Usagi sat there, holding Seiya's hand, overwhelmed with the applause. They bowed, tears also in her eyes, knowing that her feeling of love reached her friends.

As the curtain fell in order for the stage to be prepared for the Four Lights' performance the inner senshi sat back down at their table and looked at each other.

"Wow," was all Minako could say, trying to wipe up her tears in a way so as not to ruin her makeup.

Rei spoke up, "I didn't know she felt that way about us," she said honestly. She knew their princess loved them as her best friends, but didn't quite understand to what degree until now.

"I did," Makoto said full of emotion. Usagi's song resonated within her soul and filled her with the quiet joy that only her princess could instill in her. "She's so full of love. It's a wonder."

Ami nodded in agreement, "We're lucky to have her as a friend."

"Who knew she could sing like that," Rei said almost in awe.

Minako, who had been the only one of the senshi to have heard Usagi sing before spoke up, "I hope she sings like that for the talent show too!"

Makoto and Ami laughed at Minako's words.

Rei laughed along, "If you both sing like that, you guy's will definitely win the talent show!"

Usagi came back out from back stage, and as she walked through the crowd, another wave of applause rose up to greet her. She smiled and waved in thanks, offering her gratitude to those who greeted her on the way to the table where her senshi were sitting at.

She approached her inner senshi meekly, but before she could say thing Minako leapt up and enveloped her princess in her arms. The other inner senshi joined Minako on their feel and they all hugged each other, trying to hold back their tears.

"Surprise," Usagi said feebly, still clinging to Minako.

"That was amazing, Usa-chan," Minako whispered into her best friend and princess's ear.

Usagi separated herself from Minako's arms, she looked at her other senshi, "I've had this written for quite some time," she explained, "But I was never able to fully get the rest of tune of it down until now."

"It was beautiful, Usagi," Ami replied sweetly, with tears still bright in her eyes.

Usagi beamed at the praise, "Seiya helped me write it."

"It was so touching, Usagi-chan," Makoto replied, "Thank you. Thank you for thinking about us like that."

"Of course! You are all my best friends! I love all of you!" Usagi exclaimed.

"We love you too Usagi!" cried the inner senshi back at Usagi.

"Come on now, guys! We can't be all sad and crying for the Four Light's concert!" exclaimed Minako. "We gotta cheer them on!"

That got all the girls out of their emotion stupor. They all laughed and settled around their table once again as the lights dimmed low in the ballroom.

The curtains parted and in the bright spotlight, stood the Four Lights. Cheers and screams filled the air, along with catcalls and whistling.

"Welcome everyone!" Seiya sang out into the cheering crowd. "Let's give a big round of applause to Princess Serenity for that heartfelt opening, shall we?!"

The crowd roared in agreement looking around the room until they spotted the princess with her senshi. She clapped along and waved back to the crowd, smiling at Seiya.

Tooru followed her sister and greeted the crowd, "We are the Four Lights! In honor of our beautiful planet, we dedicate this performance to Kinmoku and her people! And a special thank you to Princess Serenity, for saving us all!"

The crowd screamed again, including Usagi and her senshi. They cheered along with the crowd, excited to be able to listen to the Four Lights for the first time.

Music filled the air, and four angelic voices rose up filling the room with harmonized symphony. This concert was going to be one to be remembered by everyone.

~.~

The concert had been a raging success. Everyone had danced the night away to the amazing music. The Four Lights' show was especially a smash. After their set was over, the Four Lights had gotten so many ovations that they played several songs passed their finale.

"You guys were amazing!" Usagi exclaimed at Seiya as they walked next to each other in the royal gardens.

Seiya had snuck away with Usagi while everyone was dancing to the music of the last group playing on the stage. It was late into the night and she wanted to spend just a little more time with the princess alone.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Seiya said, bowing gracefully to Usagi with a cheeky smile on her face.

Usagi laughed, "Mou! You're just impossible, do you know that?!"

"That's why you adore me," Seiya replied winking.

The two kept walking through the gardens inhaling the sweet scent of the flowers. Their hands brushed up against each other causing both of them to blush. The starts twinkled above as if laughing at them and their awkwardness and also lighting their path in the darkness.

Usagi's heart had been racing at the thought of Seiya ever since they sang together during her opening performance. They hadn't originally planned to sing the last part of the song together. It was a last minute decision that Seiya had made, and even without practice, they were able to harmonize perfectly.

There was a yearning in Usagi's heart that craved for the Starlight. She continued to blush prettily as she let her emotions flow over her body. Usagi had never felt like this before. It was as if her whole body was afire. She felt her heart beating as fast as a hummingbird's despite the slow meander that she and Seiya were walking in.

For her part, Seiya was undergoing a mental argument with herself about how to approach Usagi. She had felt literal sparks between them as sang together. Every time their fingers brushed against each other while they walked she felt her very soul burn with a passion that she had never felt before. The love that she had for the Moon Princess was driving her wild and incoherent.

The two arrived at an opening from the gardens overlooking the sea crashing upon the waves below the cliffs that the palace hung above. Two of Kinmoku's moons shined in the sky, glowing with iridescent light.

"It's so beautiful here, Seiya," Usagi whispered. She shivered as a cool breeze brushed her hair from her face.

Seiya wrapped her arms around Usagi to warm her up. "You're beautiful, Odango," she said looking into Usagi's eyes.

Cerulean blue met indigo and it seemed like the world just disappeared looking into each other's eyes. Seiya cupped Usagi's face with her hand, taking in the softness of her skin. Her thumb brushed lightly against Usagi's lips, causing Usagi to tremble with desire.

"Seiya, I…," Usagi began to say.

Seiya interrupted her with a finger to her lips. "Odango, I've been meaning to apologize to you."

Usagi's brows furrowed, "Why?"

"I never apologized for how I acted while I was on Earth. I was selfish and inconsiderate," Seiya began.

"But…"

"No. Please, let me continue," Seiya begged, Usagi still in her arms.

Usagi bit her lip and tilted her head trying to think of why Seiya would be apologizing, but eventually nodded to the Starlight.

"I had prided myself in being there for you, but in reality, I was there for myself. I wanted to make you fall in love with me. I didn't care that you had a boyfriend that you were desperately missing. I didn't want to know the details of the situation and just assumed that Mamoru just didn't deserve you. I just wanted you to myself without asking you what you wanted. I pushed my feelings onto you and did you a disservice," Seiya paused, taking Usagi's hand into hers, kissing the tips of her fingertips. "I just want you to know, that I am so sorry that I wasn't a better friend to you."

"Seiya," Usagi whispered, voice full of emotion. "You have nothing to apologize for. If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you. My conviction should have been stronger, and I should have been more honest with you about how I felt about you. I know you cared about me; you even got hurt trying to protect me! I have always been so lucky to have your friendship."

"But, Odang…"

"Shhh. It's my turn to speak," Usagi pulled herself away from Seiya's embrace, and turned to look at the view of the two moons smiling upon them. "Things were a lot more complicated than you know. There were other factors that kept me loyal to Mamo-chan."

"Was it your daughter?"

Usagi looked up in surprised, "Yes. How did you know?"

"Minako told me all about her when we were guarding you at the temple the other day," Seiya explained. She looked deep into Usagi's eyes, as if trying to read her soul.

"Ahh. I see. Well then you know."

Silence.

Usagi leaned over the railing taking in a deep breath of sea air laced with the traces of olive blossoms. "I'll tell you a secret though."

Seiya stood next to Usagi looking out onto the rolling ocean beneath them. "What?"

"I like life better when I don't know what the future will be," she said simply. "It's more… exciting this way, I think."

Seiya had to agree with that and nodded along with the thought.

"You know, you still haven't asked my question from before."

"What question?" Seiya asked.

Usagi turned to face Seiya. She stepped closer to her, resting her hands on the lapels of Seiya's dress jacket. "What do you think of me?"

Seiya smiled down at her stubborn little rabbit princess. She took in the view of Usagi standing in the moonlight right in front of her. Her skin glowed with an ethereal light, her long hair in her traditional buns seemed to glitter silver in the light. She was the most breathtaking sight Seiya had ever witnessed. Her breath was simply stolen away.

Usagi waited, holding her breath. Seiya was a vision of beauty in front of her. The tall Starlight's ebony hair glistened in the moonlight; her eyes soft with an expression that held Usagi's rapidly beating heart. She needed to hear Seiya's reply.

Seiya's hands reached up to caress Usagi's face. Usagi closed her eyes and breathed in Seiya's closeness. "I love you, Odango. I love you, with all of me," Seiya whispered. Seiya's eyes searched Usagi's , waiting for her words to settle into Usagi's mind. She was almost afraid of what Usagi's reaction would be.

Usagi's eyes widened at the confession.

For a moment Seiya's heart was on the brink of breaking; afraid that her love would be rejected by the beautiful princess in front of her. Why did she ever think that she was worthy of this goddess' love?! Was she just being foolish?

Then Usagi's face broke out into a heart-stopping smile. She couldn't believe it. Seiya loves her. It was too surreal. Was she really still on Kinmoku? Was this all a dream?

"I know that you just recently got out of a relationship with Mamoru-san," continued Seiya as she basked in Usagi's smile, "and I fully intend to court you properly, somehow. But do know, that my love for you is true."

Usagi's eyes softened at Seiya's words. Seiya always thought about her first. She was so considerate and caring, and lovely and so amazing. Usagi raised herself up to her tiptoes, leaning forward closer to Seiya, her eyes closing as her lips went to meet Seiya's lips.

Their lips met, like soft petals on silk sheets. Seiya's arms fell to wrap around Usagi's slim waist, and Usagi's arms slipped up tangling her fingers into Seiya's black locks, pulling Seiya deeper into the kiss. The contact sent a lance of desire through both of them that left them weak in the knees.

The passion of the kiss seared the air around them and once they broke for air, Seiya leaned back, but not before Usagi pulled her back, "No, more," she had growled, claiming Seiya's lips again with her own.

Seiya was elated. She didn't think that Usagi's passion would supersede hers! She met Usagi's kisses with equal passion, opening her mouth, tasting the sweetness from Usagi's tongue as it melted with hers. They clung to each other, body pressing up against body, their erratic heartbeats synchronizing. They were drunk at the proximity that they shared, their senses reeling at the newfound sensations.

They eventually parted, panting lightly, faces flushed, eyes filled with joy and desire. Usagi had never reacted to a kiss like that before. It was as if a fire had ignited in her core, leaving her wanting more and more. "That was a kiss," she breathlessly gasped.

Seiya grinned at Usagi, pulling her under her arm as she sauntered them back towards the palace. "Let's get you back to your room princess, before your senshi think I do something untoward to you."

Usagi giggled and purred into Seiya's ear, "What if I want you to do something 'untoward' towards me?" She leaned up nipping Seiya in the neck.

Seiya stopped in her tracks, her face blushing in surprise. The great Seiya-sama had never been teased like THAT before, usually she was the one doing the teasing. She gasped and turned to her Odango, "Wha-huh-…?"

Usagi laughed running down the garden path, "Baaakaaaaa!"

Seiya laughed and ran after her moon princess. Once she caught her mischievous moon bunny, Seiya walked her back to her room like the proper gentlewoman that she was; this didn't stop her from kissing her face, neck, hands and throat the entire trip back to Usagi's room though. Had anyone been around to witness them, they would have thought that the two were long time lovers instead of just having discovered their feelings for each other.

"Thank you for walking me to my room, Sei-chan," Usagi said sweetly.

"Anything for you, my Odango," Seiya said leaning forward to giving Usagi one more searing kiss. Her body pressed Usagi against her bedroom door, Usagi whimpered in desire as their mouths fought dominance over the other. Their hands began to roam, Usagi caressing Seiya's shoulders and neck, while Seiya's hands explored Usagi's waist and back.

They both craved more, but it was also too overwhelming. It was an emotional overload and it was time to say goodnight before things got out of hand. Usagi smirked up at Seiya, breathing heavily, lips parted. "I-I-I have to go," she murmured.

Seiya swooped down kissing her one more time, "I know, I know, I'm going." Reluctantly, the Starlight disengaged herself from her moon princess. She took a step back, "I love you, Sereko," Seiya said, using Kakyuu-hime's nickname for Usagi.

Usagi smiled hearing the pet name she had earned from the Olive Blossom Planet, she liked hearing it spill from Seiya's lips. Usagi let herself into her room, and as she slowly closed the door she softly said, "I think I love you too Sei-chan. Good night."

Seiya stood for a moment at the door, leaning against it for support. It just all seemed so surreal. Ecstatic joy filled her heart. It wasn't a feeling she could describe beyond the word 'perfection'. It wasn't just a good night. It was the best night!

* * *

There you go! I was going to be all mean and leave it all cliffhanger'ie, but considering I didn't post last week, I felt like I didn't have the right. hehehe.

Hope you enjoyed! Hopefully I'll be able to get to more of the meat and potatoes of the story! ACTION! I want to write action! lol.

Thanks agin for reading! ::Bows in Gratitude:: Please review and let me know what you think! I love getting reviews!

Until next time! (I will try to make sure I have an update for next week!)

Ja'na!


	21. Chapter 21

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

Hey all! Sorry again for the late post. It looks like my updates will be happening every 2 weeks unless I get some more free time.

Big thanks to **DevlinJohns****1e**, **SailorEarth19**, **QueenUsagi**, and **SweetDorka** for their reviews for the last chapter. YAY reviews! PS: I love ppl more when I get more reviews. HINT HINT NUDGE NUDGE.

Anywhoo- I won't belabor the issue. Let's get to the meat and potatoes! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 21:

Usagi sat wrapped in her blanket watching the sun begin to rise out of her window. She breathed in the dew-scented air that came with morning. Last night had been unbelievable. The duet with Seiya, their midnight walk through the gardens and their first kiss.

But that was the magic from last night, and now, a very real evil reality had to be dealt with. Usagi rang for a maid and asked for a light breakfast and to see if Kakyuu-hime was up for the day already. It was time to get to business, people needed to be protected, and although she hated to be the bearer of bad news, being prepared was more important than being ignorant.

As it turned out, Kakyuu was just waking up and invited Usagi to breakfast with her in her rooms. Usagi dressed quickly in a simple, but formal morning gown and made her way to Kakyuu's suite.

She knocked at the door and heard a sweet voice welcome her in. Usagi opened the door and smiled gently at her friend who was sitting by the open balcony, "Good Morning Kako-chan."

"Good Morning, Sere-chan. Did you have an enjoyable evening with Seiya?" Kakyuu mischievously asked. Her voice was light and playful, but Usagi could see the burning joy and curiosity in her eyes.

Usagi winced a little; Kakyuu was NOT going to let her get a word in edgewise until she told her about her evening with Seiya. She tried to play dumb, "Kako-chan, whatever do you mean? I don't…"

Kakyuu interrupted her crossing her arms and pouting her lips at the Sol-ar princess, "You don't fool me, Serenity-hime!" her friend chastised her. "I know that you and Seiya disappeared toward the end of the night, and you are going to tell me what you two were up to!"

Usagi continued to fake innocence in her eyes.

"Coommmmeeeee oooooonnnnnnn!" Kakyuu begged.

Usagi laughed as she collapsed into the arm chair next to Kakyuu's, "Haha, alright, alright! You win, what do you want to know?!"

The rest of the early morning passing pleasantly as Usagi and Kakyuu shared their stories about the previous night; Kakyuu laughed in triumph when Usagi told her that the Starlight had professed her love to her.

"I win the bet from Tooru then!" she clapped her hands joyously. "Tooru thought that Seiya wouldn't confess her love to you until you all left later this month! But I have faith in my Starlight…" Kakyuu's words faded as she looked at the expression on Usagi's face. "Sere-chan, what's wrong?"

Usagi sighed, the reason for her morning chat with Kakyuu flooding the forefront of her mind. "Kako-chan, I have some bad news that I need to discuss with you…"

Usagi spent the rest of the morning telling Kakyuu about her premonition and the findings from the meditation that Rei and her had a few nights ago. They discussed what they thought should be done about the situation. Neither of them had forgotten the devastation that followed Shadow Galactica; they were not about to let Chaos amass his army without a fight.

~.~

The Sol-ar Senshi, the Vega Senshi and the Starlights gathered in the tactical conference room at the palace. They had all been summoned there for a private, but official, meeting with the Royal Family and Princess Serenity. The senshi all whispered to each other in speculation. All of the senshi, both Vega and Sol-ar had gotten to know each other over the week of the festival and had earned mutual respect in each other. They all bonded over the fact that they were in charge of protecting and supporting the royal families who in turn protected their systems.

"What do you think this is all about," Jupiter whispered to her fellow inner senshi.

"I'm not sure," Mercury said with curiosity in her voice, "But it must be something important."

Sailor Venus looked at Mars speculatively, but didn't say anything. She had a sneaky suspicion that it had something to do with the late night meditation that Mars and Usagi had a few nights ago.

Sailor Star Healer and Maker joined the inners in their conversation.

"It must be something serious or else they wouldn't have called all of us here," Maker said solemnly.

Healer nodded in agreement, "Typically the Vega senshi get called to deal with more 'local' issues, and us Starlights get the 'outer' problems."

Mercury looked up in surprise, "Kind of like the outers and us."

"Any idea what this might be about, Fighter?" Healer turned to Fighter who was just walking up to the group.

"Yeah, Fighter!" Makoto teased, "You've been hanging with our princess this entire time, any idea…"

Protector interrupted her, "What exactly IS going on between you and the Moon Princess, anyway?"

Fighter feigned innocence. "What ever do you all mean?" she asked. "Are you implying that something might have happened between the Moon Princess and incredible watashi-sama?"

The Sol-ar senshi and the Starlights gathered around Fighter who had a smirk on her face and a gleam in her eyes. It screamed 'I'm not going to tell you anything!'

They were about to pounce on the Starlight when the doors opened revealing not only Kakyuu-hime, but the entire royal family consisting of the King, the Queen, and the heir-apparent Kikyuu-hime. Serenity-hime strolled in after the royal family, back straight, her eyes cold, playing with a silver sphere in her hands.

All chatter died and a decidedly nerve wracking silence filled the room.

The royal family sat at their seats at the head of the massive round table. Serenity leaned up against the wall in the shadows.

The inner senshi sat in their seats alarmed at how their princess was acting. Something was very wrong.

"First I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your hard work during the reconstruction of our planet and during the festivities," Kakyuu began. "I'm so proud of everyone…" her voice began to falter. Her older sister Kikyuu began to rise, but Serenity came out of the shadows and rest a hand on Kakyuu's shoulder lending her her strength. She murmured something to the Fireball Princess and Kakyuu nodded and faded back behind Serenity.

Serenity-hime inhaled slowly. "I want to apologize first," she sad slowly, "for being the bearer of this bad news." Her crystalline eyes pierced through every single person as she looked around the room. "A few days ago I felt a shock of evil rip through me. Upon further meditation, it seems that we are called back to protect this galaxy once again."

All of the senshi's minds raced. Serenity-hime's words could mean anything. The silence seemed to thicken in the room.

She took the silver sphere that she had been playing with in her hands and lightly tossed it into the middle of the large round table that everyone sat around. "It will be better if I show you," Serenity explained to them. The silver sphere glowed bright and seemed to almost explode before it landed on the table. After everyone blinked from the light, a dark mist of Serenity's vision floated above the middle of the table.

The group watched in silence as the hologram's darkness cleared and they were all able to witness the horrifying vision of Chaos' return. The mist from the hologram dissipated and the silver sphere fell to the table.

"Chaos has returned?" the senshi all asked, horrified.

Serenity bowed her head in apology, "He has. I am so sorry."

"It's not your fault!" Kakyuu shouted.

Everyone turned to see the Fireball princess crying in anger. "Don't you EVER think that this is your fault," she yelled at Usagi.

Serenity-hime smiled sadly, but did not argue. She turned back to the group at the table. "Regardless of whose fault it is, it matters not. Chaos is back, and he will try again to ruin this galaxy. We must rally together to defeat him."

Before all hell broke loose in the room Serenity raised one hand up for silence. "My mother, Queen Serenity has started an inter-galactic embassy. Hopefully with the help of all of the senshi from this galaxy, we can work together to fight off Chaos without losing any systems on the way."

Serenity let her words sink in, hoping to light a spark of hope within the senshi and the royal family. It was too soon after Shadow Galactica. They still remembered dying for their planet; at least this time, they knew what would happen if Chaos won. Their resolve hardened to protect their galaxy at all cost.

Kakyuu spoke up. "Vega-senshi," she addressed the inners of the Vega System, "I charge you with the protection of our system. You are to train and harness energy to protect our planet and our people. Kikyuu will take over as general commander."

The Vega senshi stood and saluted at the order from their now former commanding general.

Kakyuu continued, "I will be leaving with the Starlights for the Sol-ar System. I will be the ambassador for our planet for the inter-galactic embassy and I promise to represent our system with pride and honor."

This time the four Starlights stood and saluted Kakyuu-hime.

"Then it is settled," Serenity said solemnly. "I'm sorry my senshi, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut our vacation short," she apologized to her friends and protectors.

The inners shook their heads. They understood what stood on the line.

"I promise we'll come back for that month long vacation once we've vanquished Chaos," promised Serenity. "My new friends," she addressed the Vega senshi and the royal family, "Thank you so much for your hospitality, and again, I'm sorry for bringing such dark tidings. I'm sorry this peace could not be celebrated for longer. Also, I'm afraid we're going to be leaving for the Sol-ar system tonight."

~.~

Across the Milky Way Queen Serenity closed the door to her cousin's room quietly. Diamond had just brought his daughter and brother from their planet and it took until now for him to relax enough to sleep. It had been a tedious affair for them all and her heart ached for Diamond. She did not know if she would be able to carry on, if her own daughter's existence hung on the line like his.

King Diamond had told them of the heart-breaking story of the Dark Kingdom. The time line for those from the Eris Planet had been advanced due to the return of the starseeds. Instead of being rejected from the planet Earth in the 30th century, those that descended from the Goddess Eris were granted their own planet. They lived peacefully; however, tragedy struck them as Diamond's queen had died during childbirth leaving him alone to raise his daughter.

Diamond and Sapphire teleported the young princess in her crystal encasing to the moon for further protection; unlike most crystal tombs, hers was made out of a dull opaque black-purple crystal that was impossible to see through. The Queen had tested the crystal, but a power much stronger than hers had created this tomb. She needed Mercury to test it, she was sure that the senshi of wisdom and curiosity incarnate would go on overdrive at the thought of having a possibly god-made matter to test.

Queen Serenity walked through the hallways of her palace lost in thought. "Your majesty?" a voice called out to her. The Queen spun and smiled seeing her other cousin Sapphire.

"Sapphire," she called out to him gently coming up to him and embracing him. "It's good to see you, my dear cousin."

Sapphire smiled and hugged the queen back awkwardly. He wasn't much for public displays of affection, but Serenity had won that argument with him a few hundred years ago; to this day, she was the only one that could claim such natural affection from him.

"Thank you, cousin, for trying to help Diamond," Sapphire began.

Queen Serenity interrupted him, "Of course I would help! I would be furious if you had tried to go else where for assistance!"

Saphhire bowed his head to hide a smile. Serenity had always been impulsive as she was passionate. They had been out of touch for too long, and it was nice to be in her steady aura of warmth and love again.

"I promise, we will find out what has happened to the little princess!" Serenity continued, "But how have you been, Sapphire? It must have been hard on you as well…"

"I am alright. Mainly concerned for our small planet, but nothing there is new. Our resources are limited and our planet itself is quite old, but we'll find a way, we always do."

"Let me know if there is anything you need from us. Eris has the Moon's support," Serenity stated passionately.

"Thank you, cousin." Sapphire smiled a rare smile, "So when do we get to meet the young princess that we all owe our existence to?" Sapphire as well as Diamond contained the memories of their past, and was curious to meet Sailor Moon again. He was unsure of how Diamond felt about the Moon Princess, but he for one, was grateful for the opportunity to leave a life of peace without being under the influence of the dark crystal or Wise Man.

Queen Serenity smiled at the thought of her daughter and her accomplishments. "She's on a month long vacation to the Vega System on Kinmoku. They're celebrating the reconstruction of their planet, but I do hope that you and Diamond stay around long enough to meet her when she comes back!" The queen clapped her hands, an idea forming in her mind.

"Oh I know!" she exclaimed, "I've been getting many responses from planets in systems all over our galaxy, we should hold a ball to celebrate our inter-galactic embassy! That way we can all get to know each other and have a party at the same time!"

The exuberant queen giggled as her cousin shook his head laughing. He wondered if her daughter also followed the traits of the mother as far as letting her stomach and affinity for parties rule her actions.

"I'll have invitations written out! Oh Sapphire! You have to help! You're planning skills are the best! Please?!" the Moon Queen almost begged.

Sapphire groaned in jest, "Alright, Sere-oneesama," using his childhood name for her.

Serenity's smiled at hearing her old nickname beamed from her face. "Wonderful! This is going to be so much fun! Let's see if we can get the basic information down and then drop this on Uranus!" she said mischievously.

The two walked down the hall arm in arm, Serenity tittering about details over how she wanted the ball to go.

~.~

Usagi had transformed into Sailor Moon. She was waiting in on the balacony where they were all going to teleport from. Around her, stood her senshi. She knew they had a million questions to ask of her, but they just stood around her, giving her their silent support. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you all about this earlier," she started to say.

Minako shook her head, "We understand why you waited until now to say thing, Usa-chan." As the leader of the Sailor Scouts, Minako's first thought was duty to her princess. She knew that Usagi would be blaming herself for Chaos' return, and she was not about to let Usagi blame herself for anything, nor was she going to let anyone else try to blame her for it either.

"We understand, Usagi-chan," Ami spoke softly.

Makoto nodded fiercely, "You just wanted us to be able to enjoy the rest of the gala without any worries. I can't say that I think it was the right choice, but I respect it."

"We're here with you, Princess," Rei said heatedly, "And don't you dare let other people think that this was in anyway your fault. We'll set them straight!"

Tears started to form in Sailor Moon's eyes. Her friends were the best. They were her everything, her strength and her power. "Thank you so much, minasan. You have no idea how much that means to me!" Usagi covered her face with her hands trying to hide her tears.

"We all love you," Minako whispered to her pulling her best friend and leader into her arms for a hug. The other senshi grouped together all holding each other and sharing the feeling of support and love amongst each other.

Kakyuu and her Starlights watched from the other side of the balcony. "Are you all ready for this?" she whispered to her Starlights.

Tooru reached out and grabber Kakyuu's hands in hers, "We are ready, and you have our sworn oath to protect you and our galaxy."

Fighter, Maker and Healer all nodded in agreement.

"We took him once, hime," Fighter stated gravely, but confidently, "We can take him again."

Kakyuu nodded her head and gather her power to transform. "Let's get this show on the road."

The senshi all gather hands, "SAILOR TELEPORT!" they yelled. Bright energy gathered, and once it peaked into a sight-blinding brilliance, they all shot up into the sky like a comet heading towards Earth.

* * *

There you go! Thanks for all your patience and sticking with me while I stumble through all of this!

Please Please Please review?! Even the short reviews do much for my confidence and determination to get through this!

Thanks for reading! Until next time! ::bows with gratitude::

ja'na!


	22. Chapter 22

**DISCLAIMER:** Sailor Moon or the characters do not belong to me. It belongs to the fabulous and talented Naoko Takeuchi! The plot and other original characters however, are all mine!

Hello all! I've been struggling these past two weeks with which direction to take the story, so I decided to finally sit down and just write. Not 100% sure if I like it, but it'll do for now. I may go back and rewrite this. Please PM me for mistakes, I'm not even rereading this just so I can post Something.

Thanks to **Sailorearth19**, **Sweetdorka**, and **Puffgirl1952 **for your reviews! Also, if anyone is interested in a Utena/SM crossover, Puffgirl1952 has a great story going on! You should all check it out! It's called: "Kakumei No Kishi: The Knights of Revolution" Sweetdorka, I may take you up on the Galactica idea... she may show up sooner or later! thanx! ^_^

Ok, I've made you all wait long enough! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 22:

Queen Serenity looked into her daughter's eyes in shock. She had had a lot of surprises that day and decided that she hated surprises. The first surprise wasn't a bad; the Queen was overjoyed to see her daughter again, as well as the guests that she had brought with her from Kinmoku. However, after registering their expressions, she realized that their early return had a more sinister reasoning.

Her mind clouded with the vision that she shared with her daughter telepathically. The vision of Chaos erupting from the darkness seemed to overwhelm her mind. The queen stood up even straighter in her overstuffed chair, worry in her eyes.

She was sitting in her private sitting room with her daughter. Everyone had gone to bed but the Queen and the Princess had decided on a late night tea and snack time in their nightgowns appropriate for their own private reunion.

"So he's back," the queen sighed in resignation. "Sometimes I question the sanity of Father Time and Mother Space for creating Chaos in the first place, the Queen muttered mostly to herself.

Serenity chuckled quietly to herself at her mother's comment about the Universe's creators. Though to be fair, at that particular moment, she felt the same way. _Stupid eternal balance, why couldn't we all be born mundane and boring?! That way no evil would have been created,_ Serenity thought pouting.

Queen Serenity shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Of course, an army had to be amassed to fight Chaos and his mystery warrior, but something else had caught the queen's attention that had to be addressed first.

"So, tell me, Sere-ko, what's going on between you and that Starlight, Fighter?" the Queen asked nonchalantly while taking a sip of her tea. "Her name is Seiya, I believe, right?"

Serenity's faced flushed red. Her love life was the last thing she thought her mother would want to talk about considering recent events.

The queen continued, "There's obviously something between the two of you dear. You two have been blushing at each other all night! I know you've only been home for a few hours, but THAT much is obvious!" The queen chuckled at her daughter's discomfort. She knew that her daughter's heart was on the mend from her breakup with the Earthling prince.

Serenity gulped. "I- I am quite fond of her, mother," she tried to explain. Serenity wasn't the most eloquent person, and was having a hard time finding her words in between her blushing. She reached out with her mind to her Lunar mother and projected all the complicated feelings she felt about the Kinmokan Starlight.

Queen Serenity smiled as her daughter's feeings washed over her. It was a warm feeling of safety and caring. This Seiya had protected her Usagi from the time of Shadow Galactica and had given her strength and someone to lean on. Their budding love stemmed from friendship and was growing into a more intense passion. There was still confusion and worry, but the queen had a feeling that the two could potentially make each other very happy.

"I see."

"Mother, I know that with all this…," Serenity tried to explain.

The queen smiled warmly at her daughter and interrupted her, "Sere-ko, you have nothing to explain to me, my dear. I understand your feelings, and I only hope that I can help protect both of you."

Serenity threw herself into her mother's arms. "Thank you Sere-mama, for understanding. I've been so worried that you would be disappointed in me for having the bad taste to fall in love in a time of war."

Queen Serenity laughed, "Love always has bad timing! I am not disappointed at all, but tell me, why else are you worried, I know you better than that."

"You know me too well," Serenity sighed. "We only found out a few days ago about our feelings, and haven't had the chance to talk about what it means for us. I thought we would have the month at Kinmoku to hash everything out, but I'm afraid she might hate me for getting her involved with Chaos again…."

"Nonsense! Something like that wouldn't make anyone hate you, Sere-ko!" the queen chided. "Don't just talk to her though, dear. Talking is all well in good, but you also have to show her through your actions, how much you care about her."

"But, what if…"

"No buts!" the queen interrupted. "I know that things are starting to look bad again, but you can't neglect the good things in life either. Set that love free and see how it grows and flourishes. It will only make you stronger in the end."

Serenity took a moment to let her mother's words penetrate into her mind. She finally nodded in agreement, "I'll try."

The queen smiled, "It's late. Off with you now, we've got a long day ahead tomorrow."

Serenity leaned over to kiss her mother's cheek, "Good night, Sere-mama. It's good to be home again."

"Good night, Sere-ko. Sweet dreams."

Serenity walked down the marble hallways towards her suite. Glancing out the open windows and feeling a cool breeze, she decided to talk a short walk before going to bed.

~.~

Seiya sighed as she leaned onto the railing that overlooked the gardens on the Moon. The white light gave the garden an ethereal view. As she looked beyond the horizon the Earth hung in its blue majesty.

They had arrived back on Earth earlier that day surprising Queen Serenity and the outer senshi. Seiya laughed to herself silently as Sailor Uranus frowned upon seeing the Starlights and Kakyuu-hime approach the Queen presenting their services to the Inter-galactic Embassy. After all this time, the wind senshi still did not trust Seiya.

The rest of the group had all gone to bed after their exhausting trip. It had taken them a few days to travel the distance between Kinmoku and Earth, or rather, the Moon, and it had taken a toll on all of them. Seiya however, was having a hard time falling asleep. Only a few days ago, she was basking in her Odango's attention, and now, it seemed that they were at the brink of war again.

Seiya sighed deeply. She walked down into the garden she had been admiring and followed a pebbled path off the main trail. It took her to a secluded nook of the garden where flowers bloomed in an almost wild fashion. They weren't groomed and clipped like the rest of the garden. Here, nature was allowed to take over and grow uninhibited. Seiya sat down on a marble bench inhaling the sweet scent of flowers in the crisp moon air.

Footsteps on the pebbled path alerted her to the presence of another person happening upon the secluded flora. Looking up, Seiya saw Princess Serenity meandering down the same path she had taken. She was a vision of an almost unhuman beauty. The hazy white light reflected silver upon her hair, which was braided into a loose fishtail braid down her back trailing on the ground behind her dress. She wore a long robe of white soft cashmere and lace untied, revealing a long white satin nightgown underneath. Seiya gulped hard trying not let her jaw drop to the ground.

Seeing the princess and not wanting to startle her, Seiya stood up by way of greeting her. "Serenity-hime," she said, bowing slightly.

Usagi, who had been lost in thought was startled in hearding someone's voice in her little garden. "Oh Seiya, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," Usagi replied. She smiled asking, "I see you made it to my garden, how do you like it?"

Seiya looked around, and smiled. The wild abandon of this part of the garden made more sense now that she knew it was the princess' private garden. "It fits you, Odango."

Usagi huffed, "Mou! I am not Odango! My hair isn't even up like that right now!" She crossed her arms in front of her chest turning away from Seiya.

Seiya and Usagi laughed at the familiarity of the situation.

"Odango…" Seiya began.

All of a sudden Serenity was in Seiya's arms, holding her tight. Seiya was surprised, but a warmth had filled her heart at the gesture. She was unsure of where they stood. The night they had shared kisses seemed like ages ago, and she was nervous about how to approach Usagi.

"I'm scared Seiya," whispered Usagi.

"Why are you scared hime? We beat Chaos before, we'll beat him again," Seiya tried to comfort her bringing her arms around Usagi.

Usagi melted into her lover's arms, snuggling her head into Seiya's chest, inhaling her spicy scent. "I just found you. I don't want to lose you," Usagi looked up into Seiya's eyes, fear clearly written in her expression. "I can't lose you to Chaos, Seiya. I can't. We're just beginning. We're still falling in love with each other, it can't end here!" Usagi buried her face back into Seiya, gripping her even closer to her shivering body.

Had Usagi been looking she would have seen the smile that graced Seiya's face. She had been worried about nothing. Her princess still wanted to be with her. Seiya lifted Usagi's face up with a finger to her chin, their faces were not even inches apart.

"I love you too, Usachi. You're not going to lose me. No one, and I mean No one, will ever be able to part us. I would never leave you, unless you asked me to. "

Usagi blushed at her new nickname. It sounded right coming from Seiya's lips. She lifted herself up onto her tiptoes and met Seiya's soft lips with her own. Their breaths mingled and Usagi deepened the kiss by pulling her arms around Seiya's neck and pulling her even closer; their bodies melting even closer together.

Seiya could feel Usagi's erratic heart beat, beating faster and faster at their proximity. She could feel the heat emanating from Usagi's face and she cupped the side of it with her palm.

They parted gasping for air, staring into each other's eyes. Seiya could see a desire in Usagi's eyes that she had never seen or experienced before. It was like a fire that smoldered underneath her skin that was ready to burst into a raging tempest.

"I promise to protect you, Usachi," Seiya vowed quietly into the space between them.

Usagi smiled reaching up to cup Seiya's cheek and caressed it with her thumb. "I promise to protect you and everyone I love. Chaos will not take over. We have too much to live and too much love to share to lose it all."

The two young lovers shared a slow gentle kiss, with the promises of more passionate moments in their future together. They strolled hand in hand back to the palace and Seiya led Usagi back to her suite.

"You should get some rest before all the planning has to happen tomorrow, Usachi," Seiya said to Usagi. "I'll head back to my room and see you in the morning, alright?"

Seiya leaning in to kiss Usagi goodnight, but was met with Usagi's index finger to her lips. A mischevious smile shone on Usgai's face. She reached down and grabbed Seiya's hand without breaking their gaze. Slowly, but steadily, Usgai opened her suite door and led the Starlight into her room, closing the door softly as Seiya passed into the room.

Seiya's eyebrow raised at the princess as she smirked, "Do you have any idea what Uranus would do if she found me in your bed?"

Usagi was already shedding her robe and easing into her canopied bed. Her head tilted to the side considering Seiya's words. She wasn't wrong. Uranus would have a cat, and it was totally innapropriate, but at this point she couldn't care less. She felt safe with Seiya with her, and if Chaos was on his way, well… she wanted to spend as much time with Seiya as she could, even if they were both asleep for it.

"It's just an innocent sleepover," Usagi replied cheekily patting the bed space next to her.

Seiya mocked groaned and slid into the sheets next to Usagi. "Fine, but if we get caught, I'm telling them that it was your idea."

Usagi cuddled into Seiya's arms, "Of couse Seiko," she mumbled sleep already taking her away.

Seiya chuckled and kissed her lover on the brow. "Goodnight Usachi, I love you," she sighed in contentment at feeling her Odango sleeping in her arms next to her, even if war was coming, it was the little moments of love like this that were worth protecting; and sleep finally carried Seiya away into her dreams.

* * *

I know, it was short. I wrote it in a day, I'm sorry! Lol. Thanks for reading!

Please write a review?! They really help me pump up to write! But either way, I'm grateful for the support and the new followers!

::Bows in gratitude::

Until next time!

Ja'na!


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